Finding Katherine
by knives4588
Summary: Katherine Deschain's life changes drastically after just one night of disaster. Can she make the change for the better? Will she find a life long companion in someone she least expected? Follow along with a young girl on her journey to find her true self
1. Advice to the Living

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Advice to the Living

_Smoke flowed around her ankles as Zola walked to the battle field. All around her monsters were screaming and crunching at the bones of the fallen warriors. She drew her swords and let out a blood curdling battle call. Every flesh eating zombie on the field looked up with their hideous glowing red eye, some of them still with bits of soldiers hanging from their mouths. They rushed at her with their jerky uncalculated movements. For just one second she wondered if the sheer number of them would be enough to defeat her. Then she left that idea behind as she rushed at the mass of them. She cut them down one by one with a swift slash of the sword. Rotting flesh flew through the air and heads rolled. She beat a path through them to the other side of the field. There were still hundreds more. The mutilated soldiers had begun to turn into ghouls themselves adding to the numbers. She didn't know if she had enough energy to fight them all. If only she could make it to the top of the hill, somehow, by some miracle someone would be there to save her, some wonderful warrior who would slay the hundreds of terrors in no time at all, and then sweep her off her feet. She started to climb but the rocks were slippery and smoke started to set in. She could hear a name being called from just over the hill, "Cat…Cat!" Cat? Who was this? The smoke grew thicker and she couldn't see. Zola started to run, falling and getting up again. She had to make it to the top of the hill but she couldn't see! "Cat! KATHERINE!"_

Katherine Deschain jumped and almost fell out of her chair. She looked around at all the staring eyes. She wondered where all the smoke and monsters had gone. A small smile flashed across her mouth when she realized she had of course been dreaming.

"Katherine, I would greatly appreciate it if you at least tried to stay awake in my class," complained her history professor. "If you can't find the time at night to get to bed, please for the sake of all of us have some coffee in the morning."

Some of the students who hadn't already gone back to working snickered at her snide remark. Katherine didn't pay attention to them, she was thinking about the dream she just had. Usually her dreams were boring and nothing really cool or even sensible happened. In most of them she was the object of some public ridicule which was never surprising. In the bad dreams something was always chasing her and she ended up falling out of bed in an unconscious attempt to run away. But this dream was exciting, she had something important to do in it and she just knew that everyone was depending on her. Who everyone was she did not know, but they were probably important.

The bell finally rang and Cat gladly pulled together her things and ran out the door. She longingly watched the other kids get into their cars with their friends and speed off. As she stood there in a trance thinking about how wonderful it would be to have her own car, her bus pulled away. She heard the screech of the door and looked over just as it pulled away from the curb.

"No!" she yelled, "please wait! Come back please I don't have any way home!"

Despite her cries and the looks of contempt from the kids who had made it to the bus on time, the driver kept on chuggin'.

"Great," she thought to herself, "now I have to walk home, with my luck it'll rain or someone will kidnap me. Why can't I just make friends with someone who has a car and likes me enough to take me home?"

Though this was a pleasant thing to think about, Cat knew no one from the school would ever become her friend. These kids all had well to do parents and lived in nice houses on the upside of town. She lived in a dangerous neighborhood with her aunt. She wasn't worried about starving or getting hurt, but it was embarrassing to have to go to this school and live in that place. She remembered trying to convince the social worker to let her go to the school down the street. It was a lot closer and she would get an education at either one.

"Do you know how dangerous that school is? There are stabbings all the time there, I just had to drag a body out of there last week! Why would you want to go to a place like that when you have a grant for a private school?" the social worker mused.

"Everyone is going to make fun of me, I wont make any friends," Cat tried to argue.

"Yes well, you won't make any mortal enemies either. And of course you won't make friends with that kind of attitude."

"You know I'm not going to make any friend anyway!" Cat screamed running out of the house.

She had honestly tried making friends at that school but just as she had suspected the other kids looked at her like trash. She finally gave up trying to talk to anyone when they filled her locker with garbage. At least she would not be stabbed or shot there. She looked thoughtfully at the passing clouds, wondering if it really hurt that bad to get shot.

She snapped back to reality as she felt cold drops of rain on her face.

"Shit," she covered her mouth after she said it. She had never cursed until she came to live with her aunt. Her aunt made it a point to use every profanity there was each time she opened her mouth.

Katherine started walking faster in hopes it would be enough to beat the rain. She always felt stupid running, she knew she would look silly with the huge school sack on her back. The light spring drizzle quickly turned into a downpour and Cat had no choice but to start running. As soon as she did a car full of school kids drove by. They all stuck their heads out the window and laughed at her, cat-calling and pointing.

Thankfully she was well used to it and ignored them. She soon came upon a back alley.

"Yes, definitely time for a short cut. I hope all the muggers called it a day because of the rain," she humorlessly thought. After living in her neighborhood for so long she had learned that things like muggers were very real. When it rained out most of them really did call it a day, why shouldn't they. They made more money than she did so they could spare a day of rain.

She whipped around the corner without bothering to peak first. She hadn't gone more than two feet when she ran head on into something solid. She bounced back hard enough to throw her feet up over her head. One of her books jabbed its dull corner into the small of her back and she yelled out in pain.

The rain continued to pour down with no signs of letting up as she lay stunned on the ground. She managed to pull her arm out from under her and push her soaking hair out of her eyes. She looked up in horror at the huge figure that loomed over her.

He had to be at least six and a half feet tall with an oversized hat atop his head. She could see dark hair blowing out around his shoulders and the glint of some colored glasses. A gust of wind rushed down the alley and caught under his giant overcoat causing it to billow out behind him. Underneath it he wore what looked like a plain black suit and a looped bow tie. It was dark in the alley so most of what she could see was only his silhouette, but that alone was enough to terrify her.

She stammered and jumped to her feet. She couldn't stop starring at his face, or where his face would have been if she could see it. Just then the sun burst out from behind a cloud and a ray made its way billions of miles down to this mans face. If Katherine could have moved she would have run away as fast as she could, but she seemed to be glued to the spot. The man was deathly pale, and his eyes appeared to be glowing red.

"His eyes can't be red," Cat thought, "humans don't have red eyes it must just be his glasses or contacts."

The man seemed to know what she was thinking. He tipped his head gently back and chuckled. The corners of his mouth reached almost to his ears and he gave her a toothy grin. Teeth that were just a little too pointed for Katherine's comfort.

"This guys some kind of maniac. What the heck am I still doing here!" she mussed. "I'm so sorry sir I didn't see you there," she forced the words out of her mouth. "I didn't see you," why did she bother saying that, obviously she hadn't seen him. If she had wouldn't she have stopped? She hated herself for always saying stupid things like that.

The man just chuckled again and starred at her. It was like he was looking through her, or even worse, into her.

"You had better hurry along girl, you'll catch your death out here in the rain," his voice was smooth and deep.

He had emphasized 'death'. As Katherine considered this he looked down at her and chuckled again. She jumped at the sound and gave herself a little shake.

"Well, have a pleasant afternoon," she nodded her head at him and rushed down the alley. She looked over her shoulder as she jogged and watched him turn around and look at her. She looked forward again and quickened her pace.

When she reached the end of the alley in which seemed like eons later she turned around to find the man gone. It had only been a few seconds and he was already gone. But there was nothing odd about that right? She was sure he had only gone around the corner, he had only been 2 feet from it after all.

Katherine turned back around and began to run home. She had a funny feeling deep down in her stomach. Like she was leaving something important behind, or maybe something important was going to happen. There was no way to really tell, maybe she had just been in the rain too long.

Whatever it was from the feeling was rather unsettling.


	2. Hopelessly Young

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Hopelessly Young

Cat ran up the steps to her Aunts town house, tripping on the top one and almost running head long into the door. She caught herself at the last moment like she most always did. She swung the door opened and preceded up the cluttered stairs.

She began changing into dry clothes and searched the room for a clean towel to dry her hair. She eventually found one that may or may not have been clean, and began trudging back down the stairs to find something to eat.

Just as she reached for the fridge her Aunt came dashing down the stairs. She was dressed like she usually was on a Friday night. Her hair was sloppily curled and she had her knee high boots on. Cat always wondered why she didn't at least get nice ones, instead of wearing these dirty things from the goodwill. She had on her same trashy tube top with the rhinestones spelling out 'glamorous'. It was funny how people could be tricked into buying clothes just because they were self proclaimed as glamorous or trendy or sexy. The bottom half of her outfit, if it could even be called that, was a jean skirt she had cut short herself. It only just covered her front and was cut shorter in the back so her bottom could hang out. Why anyone would want their bottom to hang out of something was beyond Cat.

"Perhaps for the breeze?" she chuckled to herself.

"Kitten I'm going out tonight," her Aunt cooed at her.

She had never understood why she spoke to her like that. It was as if she forgot that Katherine had grown older since she had been here. It had been ten years after all.

"I'll be home late, maybe even tomorrow, do you think you can take care of yourself until then?" she looked at Cat with sincere question in her eyes.

"Yes Aunt, you ask me the same thing every Friday when you go out. Every Saturday too and sometimes during the week," she looked at her Aunt with concern. She was clear proof that drugs really did affect your brain, drastically.

"Don't be stupid Katherine, you know I don't ever go out. You shouldn't be so selfish or you'll never make friends."

Katherine just stood at the fridge waiting for her aunt to leave. She was nice enough most of the time, but drugs made people weird. Once in awhile she would have little outbursts and would become confused. She would start calling Katherine Rowan, which was Katherine's mother. It was understandable for her to make the mistake, they did look very similar. Understandable for someone on heavy drugs, not for a perfectly healthy person of course.

Her aunt turned to go and Cat called after her, "Goodnight Aunt, be careful."

Her aunt only waved her hand in the air without turning around. Cat knew she meant well, she just hadn't had a chance to grow up yet.

What Katherine Deschain did not know was that her aunt would never get a chance to grow up.


	3. Get the Shot

Here is the third part. Tuh Da. Hope you enjoy it.

Get the Shot

Cat made herself a bowl of Ramen and settled down on the couch in the living room

Cat made herself a bowl of Ramen and settled down on the couch in the living room. She thought about cleaning things up before she got comfy but the old couch cushions were just too soft for her to resist them. She instantly felt sleepy and happy as she sunk into the old musty couch. It was a very old couch, she remembered her aunt bought it the first day she moved in.

"_Come Kitten help me pull this old thing outside," her aunt coaxed her out of her bedroom with the prospect of something to do._

"_Why are you getting rid of the couch Aunt, where will we sit?" she stared at the little dirty couch poking halfway in the door, on its way to the trash heap._

"_Since you're going to be staying here for awhile I thought we would go out and pick one together. Does that sound fun?" her aunt questioned hopefully. _

"_I guess so. Won't you miss your couch Aunt?" Cat remembered how she missed her old baby bed when her parents had gotten rid of it. _

"_I'm going to miss a lot of things Katherine, this couch will be the least of my worries," she starred at the couch when she said it with a lost look in her eye._

Cat hadn't understood what her aunt was talking about that day ten years ago, but she knew now. They had gone out to a bunch of second hand stores looking for the perfect couch. When they did not find one Cat's aunt drove them to a brand new furniture store and they picked one out. The couch hadn't been expensive but money was tight to begin with. Spending a little money didn't hurt though; it made the transition just that much easier.

Cat flipped the T.V on and started turning channels. Her aunt didn't really get any good channels, but Cat wasn't used to watching T.V anyway. She usually watched the news and sometimes an old movie would be on. Tonight she decided to settle on the action news, because she was bored. She knew it was awful to wish for something news breaking to happen but she couldn't help it. They always showed the same thing, dogs saving kids or someone finding a mauled baby in a gutter somewhere. Tonight was different though. The news woman was standing right in the middle of the storm. Cat couldn't tell what was behind her, it was so dark outside.

"Jeeze its not even 5 o'clock yet," she peaked out the window and looked up at the dangerous clouds.

She looked back at the T.V. She looked hard at the scene behind the women. She could just barley make out shadows moving around. Maybe it was a crowd of people watching them film, or maybe something really cool was finally happening. The news women didn't look as collected as she usually did. She almost looked scared

Cat got down on the floor and turned up the volume knob.

"I'm here downtown where a strange mob of people have begun randomly breaking into shops and attacking civilians," the news women said.

Cat just stared at the screen in awe. A mob attacking people? Didn't that usually happen when something cruddy was going on in society? She wasn't aware of any pay cuts or job losses, but then again she didn't really watch the news that closely.

"Police have been throwing smoke bombs and tear gas into the crowd but they don't seem to be affected…Wait! I've just got word that some of the police that entered the crowd earlier to try and calm the civilians have been spotted going along with the mob! This is just unbelievable...what the hell is going on!" the news women finally seemed to have lost her cool.

"Jay! Get me a close up on this! I don't care if you have to go down there! Get the shot!" Cat heard someone yell off camera.

The news women wobbled off camera as the camera man started walking towards the crowd. As he got closer Cat could make out some of the figures stumbling around. They looked sick and diseased, like zombies. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. This had to be some kind of joke or a movie stunt. There were no such things as zombies. There wasn't any disease that turned people crazy and flesh eating like in those movies her aunt watched. As she sat mesmerized one of the ghoul people grabbed a man that was trying to take pictures. Cat gasped as the poor man had his throat ripped out by this insane monster. It was impossible! This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening. Then Cat thought about the dreams she had been having. Could she have really predicted this? She shook her head and dropped it into her hands. There were too many questions she couldn't answer for herself. Maybe she should just forget all of this and go to bed.

She began reaching for the knob without bothering to look at the T.V when she heard an explosion. She ripped her head from her hands and almost jumped to her feet. The camera man had made it down almost into the crowd. He had secured himself on top of a monument out of harms way. Cat gave him credit, he was incredibly brave. The huge booming continued and the camera man turned towards it. Zombie heads started to explode out of no where. Cat could not see what was hitting them, it just seemed like they were starting to blow up.

"Maybe it was some crazy disease, and now its making them combust," she almost prayed this.

The camera man shifted his camera to his other arm and pointed it behind him. Katherine Deschain had never been so shocked in her life. There standing in her T.V screen, giant coat billowing in the wind, was the man she had run into this very afternoon. She could only see his silhouette on the screen, and his smile. The street lights glinted off his teeth and his eyes.

"But they aren't really his eyes Cat they're just his glasses," she assured herself.

In his hand was what looked like an enormous hand gun. Cat had seen plenty of hand guns, she had even shot one once at a shooting range when her aunt dated a cop. But she knew this was no ordinary hand gun. They didn't have these out on the market where just any yuppie could go out and buy one.

The mysterious man started laughing and shooting at the mob. Heads were exploding everywhere and Cat could hear the camera man start to whimper. The giant silhouette began walking towards him with his gun pointed. He wasn't going to shoot the poor man was he! Cat had never been so scared for someone she didn't know. But even her fear could not pull her eyes away from the telly.

At the last minute the camera man jumped from the monument and dropped his camera. Cat could see his feet running away from it, and all the other zombie feet walking around it aimlessly. Then two huge pair of boots came into the lens' view. They stopped for a moment and then knees came into the picture. Slowly the cameras view skewed upwards until it rested on a face with dark hidden features. A great white smile spread across the screen and the deep red glasses glinted as the man tipped his head slightly to the side.

"It isn't polite to meddle in other peoples business," the man grinned even wider and slowly placed is hand over the lens. A sinister chuckle arose from deep within his throat, and the T.V screen went fuzzy.

Katherine just stood there starring at the fuzzy screen. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. It was impossible, she must be dreaming. She was sure she had dozed off while slurping up hot ramen and sinking into her loving couch. She snapped back to reality when the colorful beeping bars appeared on the screen. Something was really wrong. Something horrible was happening. She knew she should do something about it but what could she do? She was a sixteen year old girl home alone on a Friday night. Was there really anything that kind of person could do?

"_You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you. Your past is not your potential."_

Katherine Deschain ran up stairs to grab her jacket.


	4. Retaining Manners

Retaining Manners

**Retaining Manners**

Katherine stuffed her arms into her jacket as she ran down the stairs. She tripped on a pile of clothes and fell down the last three steps. She ignored the sharp pain in her knees and jumped up. Should she bring anything with her? She had never gone anywhere knowing to expect the worst, knowing what might happen. She could not just leave her aunt out there though. What if something really terrible happened? She had a good idea where she had gone tonight. Right in the middle of all the action.

Cat rushed outside to the back shed. Her aunt had been married once, a long time ago. He had been some what of a dare devil and liked doing movie stunts for extra cash. He kept a lot of bikes and ATVs around and when he died her aunt had sold all of them. All of them except for one dirt bike. It was the first one he bought when they were married, a light weight bright green thing. Cat had ridden it once but when her aunt found out she became furious and locked it in the shed.

Now more than ever Cat needed the bike. She found a heavy rock and smashed it again the rusty pad lock. It broke off at once and she swung the doors open.

Little bugs and some bats flew out of the shed. Katherine shrieked as one of them bumped against her head. She rushed into the shed and pushed out the bike.

"Thank God!" she practically yelled.

The keys were sitting in the ignition.

She gave them a quick turn and the bike roared to life. She hopped on and squeezed the handles as she shot off down the street.

Katherine prayed for no traffic but it was 5:30 and just because a crisis was going on did not mean everyone knew. So the roads were neatly lined with cars. She knew it was illegal to ride on the side walk or weave between cars, but it was also illegal to be driving without a license. So Cat gently leaned to the side and raced up the road, keeping the front wheel centered on the broken white line.

As she made her way to downtown she tried to think of what she would do once she got there. She supposed she should just try and find her aunt and get her to leave with her. But knowing Aunt Marie she would already be trashed and she would not understand why she needed to go. Katherine would have to make up some sort of plan to get her to leave. Maybe she would tell her that someone her aunt had not seen in awhile was at the house. She might even be able to trick her into thinking Rowan was there. Rowan of course had been dead for ten years. She was Cat's mother, and had died along with her father in some sort of accident. Katherine was not sure what type it had been, no one ever saw it fit to tell her. They said it was just a car accident, but she had heard someone else say something about a helicopter. It didn't matter really, they were dead no matter what kind of accident it had been.

The street lights began to blur. Cat lifted her arm to her eyes and wiped away the tears. She hadn't cried in years, why should she now.

"You could lose everything tonight you know," a sickening voice inside of her hummed.

"Ugh, I can never get good advice or anything, its always cynical facts," she hated the voice she had created when she was little to help her through things. It never had anything helpful to say anymore.

Katherine finally reached the little square downtown. She screeched the bikes brakes and skidded to the side.

The square was completely empty. She couldn't hear anything, not even crying. It was like a scene from some awful movie. The wind blew some garbage across the square and little whirl winds blew dirt and leaves in comical circles.

Cat set down the bike and slowly walked towards the bar her aunt usually went to. The door was standing opened and a record could be heard skipping over and over again. She pushed the door and it swung inside the bar and hit the wall. The noise echoed and Cat felt sick and hopeless. She stepped in as quiet as she could and looked around. People were laying on the floor and tables. They were horribly bloody and chewed looking. Cat covered her nose and mouth and squinted so the bodies looked more like blobs. She could pretend they were something else, not humans who would never see the sun rise.

There was a small smacking noise coming from the left corner of the bar, by the juke box. Cat walked towards it, careful to step over a bloody severed arm. She could see someone hunched over in a little ball. It looked like a man, his clothes torn and he was missing a shoe.

"Sir! Are you alright?" Cat jumped back as he stood up.

The mans face was twisted into an awful grimace. His eyes were sunken in and blood dripped from his mouth. He let go of the thing he had been sucking on and it made a wet splat as it hit the floor and rolled a couple times.

Katherine screamed louder than she had ever screamed in her life. She looked down at her feet as her aunts head settled there face up. The look on her face would have been funny if it had been in a movie and not so incredibly real. Her eyes were so wide they were almost popping out of her head and her mouth was stuck opened in an eternal scream.

Katherine choked as her throat started to rip from the strain of her scream. The zombie in front of her yelled as well and lunged for her. Cat snapped out of her fear and ran. She forgot about the dead bodies on the floor and ran right over them. When she made it outside the bar she paused, leaning down and putting her hands on her knees. She inhaled deep and tried to get a hold of herself. Was she really seeing this? It was unbelievable that something like this could actually happen. It went against all realities that children were taught. Monsters were not real. Everything they put in the movies is fake. Children were taught not to be afraid of things like zombies, werewolves, and dare she think it, vampires. Grownups instilled this in their heads and after awhile children grew and learned that there was nothing to be afraid of. Perhaps it was some kind of crazy plan the monsters thought up to get every ones guard down.

Cat heard a noise behind her and didn't bother to look. She ran to the bike and sped down the street. She let the tires run over the bits of people lying around. She didn't know where to go. She couldn't go back home what if the zombies made it there. She didn't think the police could help, she saw on the news they were being turned into zombies as well.

Cat looked up from her thoughts just in time to see a man standing on the side of the road on a little hill. She stopped her bike and starred up at him. A hill, it seemed so familiar. She thought of her dream and how she had wanted so bad to make it to the top of that hill. She looked behind her and saw that zombies were starting to come out of the different shops and wobble down the street.

It was now or never. Cat got off the bike and started making her way to the top of the hill. For a moment she thought the man would not notice her, he was just staring up at the sky with a dreamy look on his face. She was almost close enough to touch him when he jerked his head away from the sky and looked at her. Katherine stopped dead as she saw his eyes. They were a deep crimson, and he was not wearing glasses. She changed her mind right away about getting to the top of the hill and tried to turn around to run. The man grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and laughed.

"Well well well, how did you manage to escape all my ghouls?" the man leered at her.

"Your ghouls? You made all of those people like that?" Katherine thought if she kept him talking maybe she would have a chance.

"Of course I did silly girl, who else would have done it," his eyes grew dark as he starred at her.

Katherine remembered the vampire movies her aunt watched. If you looked the vampire in the eye it was the end for you.

It was tough, but Cat managed to focus on the menacing teeth so close to her face. She laughed a little to make herself feel more at ease. It didn't help much.

"So what are you supposed to be? Some kind of vampire or something?" just keep him talking and someone will come along, they have to.

"Ha, you think if you have a conversation with me I'll forget why I caught you in the first place. Well you won't be that lucky my dear. All these adults were filling enough but you, you will be simply delicious," he grabbed the back of Cats head and tipped it.

"Please don't, I swear I'll do anything," it was the last thing Cat could think of.

The man let out an insane laugh, "Yes, you will do anything I want after I drain you of your blood, but don't worry dear I wont drink you dry just yet."

Cat became a little hopeful, anything that would stall this guy would help.

"Oh really? Well what were you planning? I could show you where all the good banks are, you could use me as a hostage to rob them," Cat didn't really know what vampires wanted, money seemed like a good thing to bribe anyone with.

Her heart sank when he began laughing at her with too much joy for someone so sinister.

"Vampires aren't interested in money you silly child. I plan to defile you in every way possible before I kill you."

Cat thought to herself, "Well I guess I had an okay life, it really could have been better though." She sighed deeply and shut her eyes.

"Giving up already girl?" an all too familiar voice reached her ears. She craned her neck to see behind the vampire holding her.

There standing just fifteen feet away was the dark silhouetted man she had seen twice tonight. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or afraid. After all she had seen tonight she had decided that this man she ran into in the rain was no more human than the mad holding her now.

"What! Who are you?" the man turned around dragging Cat with him. Cat noticed he looked a bit frightened.

"I am your death you disgusting vermin," the man with the big read had lifted his gun and pointed it at the other monsters head. Cat gasped as her pulled her in front of him like a human shield.

"You wouldn't shoot through an innocent girl would you? You work for the humans do you not? I'm sure they wouldn't be pleased if they found out you went around killing little girls," the man spoke all of this very fast with a quiver in his voice.

"Don't be so sure you worthless pile of trash," he pulled back the hammer to his gun.

The vampire tightened his grip on Cat, she did not think monsters actually feared things. She supposed it made sense though that they were afraid of bigger monsters.

The vampire stuttered, "Please wait! You can have her! You can join me! Together we could conquer the world!"

"Scum like you is not worthy to walk on this earth, now die," and Cat watched as the mans finger moved towards the trigger.

She had had enough of this and anger began to well up inside of her.

"Now wait just one second!" she yelled. Both the men stopped and looked at her. The first one loosened his grip slightly and the latter dropped the barrel of his gun, if only a few millimeters.

"You can not possibly be thinking of shooting through me. Are you in so much of a hurry that you can't even wrestle this guy to the ground or something like that," she tried thinking of something else to say. She hoped the man with the gun would understand what she was doing and play along.

He raised his gun again and smiled. Katherine hoped this meant he was onto her plan and not just a crazed lunatic ready to shoot right through her.

"I mean com'on! Everyone in the town is dead you should at least TRY and save one person. You could at least wait until the guy behind us grab him and shoot him then," Cat waited for the response.

"Huh..," the vampire turned around to see who cat was talking about. Of course no one was there and he had loosened his grip enough for Cat to wiggle free.

As soon as he turned she gave him a sharp elbow to the gut and dove out of the way. The man in red did not even wait for her to hit the ground before he shot his gun and hit the other vampire right between the eyes. As Cat landed on her stomach with her hands over her head she was showered with the powdery ashes of the deceased vampire. She supposed calling him deceased was a bit redundant but oh well. It had been a long evening.

She peaked out from under her arms to make sure everything was clear. As she got to her feet the man in red walked over to her.

"That was quick thinking, I guess you really didn't want to die," he put his gun away as he said it without looking at her.

"Well of course I didn't want to die! What kind of stupid thing is that to say!" all her fear had left her now, all that was left was anger and annoyance.

The man looked down at her and smirked. She wondered who he worked for and if he really was a vampire why would he be killing his own kind. She guessed it might be the same as people killing people, but there were more of them. Killing off vampires seemed like killing off an endangered species. Bald eagles killing other bald eagles, but they didn't know they were endangered. They only thought about territory and protecting their babies, maybe it was like that with vampires. Who knows?

The man laughed at her. It seemed he could see what she was thinking. If Katherine had been in a better mood she may have laughed with him. It was very silly to be thinking about bald eagles at a time like this. Everything that just happened started to settle in. Her aunt was dead and she had no one left in the world. What was she supposed to do for money? She guessed she would have to get a job, but how would she get enough hours with school?

"You can worry about all of those things later," the man spoke solemnly.

"So you're a vampire as well then," Cat gave up being cautious and looked him straight in the face.

"Indeed I am," he seemed to consider her for a moment and then spoke again, "You should run along home, it looks like it may start raining again."

"What about the rest of those zombies? Are you going to get rid of them?" cat did not want to be followed home by a bunch of walking dead.

"They were taken care of when I shot their master, have a look for yourself," he pointed down the slope of the little hill.

Cat walked over to the edge and looked down. Where all the zombies had been there was now a street full of dust that was being blown quickly away by the wind. Cat gave a sigh of relief and started to speak as she turned around, "thank yo…" She stopped when she saw the man was gone. She looked left and right but he was no where in site.

Cat shrugged and looked at her feet, "Thanks anyway."

She started walking down the hill back to her bike.

"You are welcome."

Cat whisked around, but no one was there. She had probably just imagined it. After everything that happened tonight she wouldn't be surprised if she started having nightmares for weeks. But who knows, maybe she really did hear it.

Knowing monsters, she had.


	5. A House of Black

a short bit

**A House of Black**

Katherine dragged her feet back to her bike and pushed it upright. She gave one last look at the little square before she hopped on and sped away. It had always looked so perfect, just like a little town out of a story book. Now it was just dark and dismal with tipped over trash cans and garbage strewn across the pavement.

Cat was in a trance as she rode home. She did not bother stopping at street lights or signs. It was late and no one was out to catch her anyway. The street was clear of cars and people. Everyone had gone home to hide in bathrooms and closets. Tomorrow they would emerge unscathed and wondering where some of their friends and family were. There would be no bodies to collect and Cat assumed the missing persons department would be busy for quite some time. People would be angry that their loved ones just disappeared. They would never be found again though, and eventually they would be forgotten.

Katherine arrived home all too soon. She wished the trip was longer so the cool wind could clear her head. There was too much to think about for one night.

She opened the door which she had not bothered to lock. She snuck around the house a bit making sure no one had broken in and was now hiding, just waiting for her to go to bed so they could jump out and attack.

The house was clear so she locked the doors and windows and stumbled up the stairs in the dark. She let herself fall onto the bed without changing, and she fell asleep where she lay.


	6. Starvation and Exposure

lalala read and enjoy and please review thank yooou

**Starvation and Exposure**

Katherine spent the next day searching for a job. She rode the little dirt bike all over London and went to every shopping store and grocery store she could think of. She even went to some gas station to see if she could get a job running the car wash. It couldn't be that hard.

Each place she went turned her down. She was only sixteen and no one was looking for someone so inexperienced.

"Come back when you're eighteen," most everyone had told her.

"At this rate I'll be dead from starvation and exposure by then," she cynically thought to herself.

At around seven o'clock Katherine tired of searching aimlessly for a part time job, so she got back on the dirt bike and rode over to one of the dog parks. She walked a ways down a path and sat down on the end of a bench. The moon was out and full and it shone brightly down on her. She wished it was a cloudy dreadful night so it would suit her mood more. What was the sky so happy about? Didn't it know what went on here on Earth?

Cat placed her elbows on her knees and rested her face in her hands. She stayed this way for quite sometime. During this time a man had walked up to her and sat down on the other side of the bench. He made sure to be completely quite so she would not be disturbed. After a few minutes a strong breeze blew towards them and ruffled Katherine's hair. The gust disturbed her and she looked up.

"You again," there was a drop of poison in her voice.

"It is dangerous for a girl to be out so late, horrible things may lurk in the dark," the man spoke this with pleasure in his voice. People always spoke fondly of themselves.

"Thanks…I'll keep that in mind," she plopped her face back into her hands. She waited for the man to say something else to her but he only stared at the moon.

"What is your name," she commanded it more than she asked.

The man answered without taking his eyes off the moon, "They call me Alucard."

An old memory flashed through Katherine's mind, and then it was gone.

"I'm Katherine," she knew he probably already knew, but it was a habit to tell people.

Alucard only nodded.

Katherine stared at him waiting for more of a response. He only stared at the moon. It was a good thing he wasn't a werewolf.

Cat had had enough of the awkward silences, "Why are you here?"

"Do you know who your parents were," never taking his eyes from the sky.

"What!" Katherine didn't understand what he meant.

"Do you know…what it was they called their job," Alucard did not take his eyes off the moon, but Katherine thought he looked a bit perturbed.

"Of course I do," she spat annoyed. "My Dad was in the army before I was born. My Mom was a police officer and they met in a bar. When I was born my Dad left the army and became a cop, and my Mom quit her job to stay home with me," Katherine considered this for a moment. "She was still gone a lot though."

Alucard finally looked at her and let out a hearty chuckle, "Is that what they told you? Or did you hear that from some helpful relative?"

"Well…my Aunt told me some, but I was a child not an idiot," Cat was becoming angry. "I saw them come home each day."

"I suppose you have been told how they died as well," Alucard said smoothly with a smug look on his face.

"Well no, no one ever gave me a straight answer. They just said it was some kind of accident."

Alucard burst out laughing at the word 'accident', "You could call it that if you wanted."

Katherine just gaped at him. Who was this guy to come here and mess with her average, safe and boring life? How dare he laugh at her like she was a clueless child. How dare he threaten to shoot through her and kill her. Who does he think he is!

Katherine couldn't contain her rage any longer. She jumped to her feet and stared in the face of this pompous man, "Alright! Who exactly are you!" the glare she gave him would have scared most men.

He just smiled and looked right back at her, considering her bravery. Would she be more frightened if he told her everything? She already knew he was a monster and her reaction to this had been nothing more than placid. She was like her mother.

"Don't excite yourself, its bad for your health," he pleasantly waited for her reaction.

"Bad for my health?! Do you have any idea what I've been through?" she paused to wait for a reaction. When none came she fumed, "You should, you were part of it. Yeah, remember that? Pointing a gun at me and getting ready to shoot! I have every right to excite myself!" she gave a great huff, balled her fists up, and stared at him.

"Sit down and I will tell you who your parents really were," he was starting to look bothered by Cats outbursts and she wondered why he didn't just kill her. He had to be working for someone who had sent him to find her.

"Who do you work for," she was no longer surprised by her boldness. She had nothing let so what did she have to fear?

"I work for the Hellsing Organization. It is an organization with the task of riding the nation's shores of all supernatural threats. Or what you would call monsters," it seemed this was the end of the explanation.

Katherine tossed the idea around in her head. She wondered how such an organization could exist without the public knowing about it. Maybe when they told you they had to kill you afterwards. Alucard shifted on the bench and Katherine flinch.

"You don't need to worry I've been forbidden to harm you," he sounded a little bummed when he said it.

"Just tell me about my parents now," the moon was starting to go behind some clouds and despite her earlier wish for it to be dark out she preferred it stay as light as possible while she was sitting next to a blood thirsty vampire.

"What you heard about your father in the army and your mother being a cop was true, but only for a short period of time. When your father left the army he and your mother joined forces with Hellsing. They helped vanquish unholy monsters along side the Hellsing soldiers and I. Up until ten years ago they were very helpful, but you were getting older and they became more interested in your life. One night when we were headed to a job they got in the helicopter and talked the whole way there about you. It seems you were just starting school and you refused to talk to other children. They continued to be distracted by the conversation as your father landed the helicopter. We went our separate ways to complete the mission. When I had finished destroying the vampires on the lower floors of the building we were on I made my way back to the roof. Your parents were already back in the chopper talking of you again. They never heard the bomb ticking and it was too late to get them out. It seems they had missed someone and that someone had taken the opportunity to do away with them for good," Alucard finished the story with the same look on his face as when he began. It was such a waste of time to find this girl and tell her what her family should have told her years ago. He could be out doing much more interesting things, but Integral had insisted the girl be told. She felt they owed it to her family for the services they had loyalty provided.

Katherine could only stare at the ground. All the things she had been dealing with from last night had been eating away at her and now this was the last straw. She felt stupid for not knowing what her parents had been up to and angry no one had ever told her. Just because she was a child did not mean she would not understand that her parents battled against monsters. If anything it would have helped her get to sleep better at night knowing that no monsters would dare hide under her bed.

"I have to go," Cat was far past tears. She got up and started to walk briskly back to her bike.

Alucard was amused at her lack of questions, "Is that all then? You want to know nothing more?"

"What more is there to know? Just because I know how they truly died now does not make them any less gone," Katherine hoped on the bike and sped off towards home. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed and stay there forever.

"Good," Alucard thought to himself, "I can report back to Master that the girl wanted nothing more to do with the organization. Then we can finally be done with this sympathetic mess." He strode away in the opposite direction and disappeared into the air.


	7. Deceitful

i haven't written chapter 8 yet. hopefully i haven't run out of idea

**Deceitful**

Integra Hellsing was sitting at her desk shuffling through stacks of papers when Alucard appeared in front of her desk. He looked more pleased than he usually did after completing a boring mission.

"Report," she flatly stated without looking up.

"Mission complete Master," he smiled wickedly.

"Complete? Where is the girl?" she stopped what she was doing and sat a bit straighter.

"The girl wished to have no more to do with the Hellsing Organization. She went on her merry way," he was positively beaming now.

"She went…on her merry way? Alucard did you not hear what I said when you left. You were to explain to her how her parents really died and who they really were…" he cut her off.

"I did exactly this, my Master," he tried his best to look innocent, "I explained and she promptly wanted to leave. I asked if she was sure she had no other questions and felt that questions would not solve any of her problems. Then she left me sitting there without so much as a thank you." He crossed his arms over his chest and stood still awaiting her reprimand.

"You know very well your mission was not just to set things straight about her family's past. You were to bring her back here immediately so we could talk over what her future is to hold. We can not have her going back to an orphanage for two years knowing everything you've just told her. Even if no one believed her it would still raise suspicions. I have had enough of your games, Alucard. Now go find her and bring her to this office within an hour. Do I make myself clear!" she hit her fist on the desk as she finished in hopes it would intimidate him a bit. Of course things like this never worked. They only amused him more.

"Yes, my Master. And how shall I bring her back here?" he bowed deeply as he spoke.

"I will have a car take you. I assume she has made it home by now," Integra sighed and lit a cigar, "Deceiving a young girl is far below you, Alucard. Even if doing so means you won't have to deal with her anymore."

Alucard sniggered, "Deceiving someone is never below me, Master, no matter what their age." He bowed and faded away.

Integra exhaled a puff of smoke and picked up the phone, "Ready a car for Alucard." She waited a moment and then hung up. Explaining to this girl why she could not live on her own would be a tedious chore. Children were always so argumentative at this age, but perhaps she would comply with staying in the mansion at least until she is older. She had handled her first meeting with vampires very well, and had even avoided being shot by Alucard. If she was anything like her parents she might be of some help.


	8. Trusting Monsters

Katherine is finally on her way to the Hellsing mansion

reviews please tell me how im doing

**Trusting Monsters**

Katherine stood in the middle of her bedroom clutching an old T-shirt her aunt had given her to sleep in years ago. She remembered her aunt had said it belonged to her mother and it would help her sleep better. Katherine had been crying because she missed her. It all seemed so far away now.

She snapped out of the trance when she heard the door bell. She dropped the shirt in surprise, and then promptly picked it up and shoved it into a duffle bag. It was late and no one should be ringing her door bell. She decided it would be safer to ignore it. For all they knew she was asleep. She bustled around the room a while longer picking up various things and shoving them into her bag. She planned to go to the orphanage in the morning and tell the social worker who she had known for so long that her aunt was still missing. She hoped they would understand.

She looked out her window knowing it might be the last time she ever did. She noticed a car was parked in front of the house. Were the people still standing at her door waiting for her to answer? Katherine thought about calling the police if they did not leave soon, but the thought was thrown from her mind as she turned around. She balled up her fists, brought them next to her face, shut her eyes tight, and howled as loud as she could.

Alucard stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets glancing around the room nonchalantly. He did not give her the slightest bit of attention when she screamed. Nor did he even give her any notice when she began screaming more and pelting odds and ends at him. He simply let them pass through him and waited for her to calm down.

Katherine realized he was not going to acknowledge her anger so she decided to go back to packing. Two could play at this game.

"I am afraid earlier I did not tell you everything I was supposed to," he waited for her to over react to this information, but she continued packing things into bags. "I have been sent to offer you an invitation to stay at the Hellsing mansion for a time."

Katherine continued working around the room without looking up. Inside she was shocked at this new news. Why did these people at this organization even care about her? So her parents had worked there ten years ago. She didn't have anything to do with that. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Alucard fidgeting from her lack of attention. Living in a mansion might be cool, but if he was going to be around all the time she wasn't sure if she could stand it. She walked over towards him, but then sat at her desk and began taking things out of drawers.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you would like to come or not. You will be leaving here tonight," he furrowed his brow and stood up straight. Katherine thought he might be trying to act daunting. She supposed scaring people into doing things was the only way he could manage because his manners were appalling.

She slowly turned her head to look at him and spoke very calmly, "You are right. I will be leaving here tonight, but it won't be with you to go to your silly mansion. I am going back to the orphanage and eventually I will take care of myself. I don't need pity from a creature such as you."

Alucard bellowed out laughter at this, "You really think it is I who pities you? If I was not on orders to come retrieve you I would kill you now you lowly little being. You human children think you own the future of the world. Well that is a future that even I will cower from. To think you sniveling and rude brats may someday run the country. It makes me sick."

"Rude!" Katherine was outraged, "You're calling me rude? You are the one who broke into my house and just stood in my doorway without even announcing yourself! Then you ignored me like it was unreasonable for me to be upset, and you dare call me rude!" She jumped up and her chair flew out from under her. She quickly finished packing her clothes and threw the two bags of her things over her shoulders. Without thinking she rushed for her doorway and plowed right past Alucard knocking him slightly to the side. She thought she probably would not have been able to get by if he had known she was going to be so bold. She had surprised herself a bit lately with her boldness. Usually she was more cautious and scared of what people would say to her, but tonight she was just mad.

She ran out the front door without bothering to lock it. She would most likely not be coming back so what did it matter. Eventually the bill collectors would come and repossess the house. She turned around and gave the little house one last look. She knew it would be a painful memory but she still did not ever want to forget it. As soon as she turned back around Alucard was standing there.

"Why don't you just leave me alone! I don't want to go with you and I know you don't want to take me anyway!" she tried to skirt around him but he blocked her path.

"It is not up to me, you will have to speak with Sir Hellsing. Like it or not we can not have you running around after what you have seen and what I have told you about the organization and your parents." He reached for her arm but she jumped away and swung a bag at him. He stood slightly stunned for a moment. The audacity this girl had to think she could fend him off.

Katherine looked as mean as she could. There was no way she was getting in a car with this guy. He was being a complete jerk. She didn't care if he was a horrific monster. He had probably been alive for quite some time. He could have tried picking up some manners along the way.

Alucard read her mind and smiled slightly. He of all creatures should know how important manners are to humans. She was right about him being alive for quite some time, and he did have wonderful adequate when he cared to show it. True vampires were elegant creatures, not these blindly blood sucking beasts' humans portrayed them as in movies. If he just showed her how polite he could be she might come along easier.

"You're quite right Miss Deschain," he offered her a bow; "If you will please just come with me to the mansion I will have Sir Hellsing explain everything to you. If afterwards you still wish to stay at the orphanage I will personally escort you there," he finished and lifted his head to look at her. Her face softened, but she remained poised and ready to swing the bag again.

Katherine thought about what he had said. She knew he was most likely lying about taking her to the orphanage, but maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to meet with this Sir Hellsing person. They could probably tell her more about her parents, and it might be nice to stay there for awhile, if that was really what they wanted her to do. She had to give this vampire credit for swallowing his pride. She could see it had been tough and she was a proud person too. She knew how hard it was to argue with someone and then tell them they were right, even if it was only to get what you wanted.

Alucard pulled each thought out of her mind. It was obnoxious how much she needed to think about things before making a decision, but she was slowly loosening her grip on her bag and he could see that he had won.

"Alright, I will go with you to this mansion, but you have to let me leave when I want. I don't want to turn into some kind of prisoner there," Katherine had started to assume this was what Alucard was. Maybe he would sympathize with her because of it.

"Of course not Miss Deschain," a wicked smile crept its way across his pale face.

He ushered her into the car and then got in on the other side. The driver started off and reminded them to buckle their seatbelts.

Katherine looked out the window as they drove down the dark streets. She wondered what kind of direction her life was turning, if it was for better or worse.

"How can getting into a car with a vampire make it turn for the better?" she murmured to herself.

Alucard lazily stretched and peered out the window, "In most cases it can't."


	9. The Mansion

whew that took a bit of work

read and review please tell me how you like it...or how you don't like it

**The Mansion**

It was nearing ten o'clock when the car pulled through an elegant set of gates and drove slowly up a long drive way. Katherine stifled a yawn and took off her seat belt. She was quite ready to meet this Sir Hellsing and then get off to bed.

The driver stopped the car and quickly got out and held Katherine's door for her.

"Thank you," she smiled. She reached for her bags, but a man who seemed to appear out of no where stopped her.

"That's alright Miss I'll get them for you," he was quite tall for an older gentleman and wore his hair perfectly slicked back and tied at the base of his neck.

"Oh are you sure? They're a bit heavy I could carry one of them if you like," she always felt bad when people helped her, even when it was there job.

"Don't worry, Walter is quite capable of carrying your bags," Alucard looked at the butler fondly

Katherine followed the two of them up the steps and through two great double doors. They stepped into a dimly lit foyer, and Katherine awed at the size of it.

Walter began walking off down a hall with Katherine's bags and soon disappeared from site.

"Wait, where is he going," she was starting to feel slightly trapped.

"He's taking your bags to the room you will be staying in," Alucard started walking towards an ornate stair case.

Katherine stayed where she was, "What do you mean. I haven't even decided to stay here yet why would I need a room." She eyed him warily.

"Whether you decide to stay or not you will still need a place to sleep for the night. I don't suspect the orphanage will be very happy if you show up in the middle of the night and wake everyone up," he did not bother stopping to tell her this, and took two steps at a time up the stairs.

"Oh, I guess you're right," she reluctantly followed him feeling more and more like she would not be leaving here any time soon. Alucard had said she could not be left to run away knowing the things he had told her. If that was true then why would a trip here change that?

She followed Alucard down another hall way and then up two more flights of stairs. She was beginning to grow weary of all this walking when he abruptly stopped in front of another set of double doors. She had been watching her feet and wondering where they were taking her so she ran into his side. He gave her a very familiar look. "Don't be so careless/immature/stupid" it said. She always got this look from adults who thought they knew better, mostly teachers and the social workers who used to come and check on her.

"You will address Sir Hellsing as Sir. Mind your manners and answer any questions honestly. We will know if you are lying. When she is finished you may ask her any questions you might have," he nodded at her as if to welcome any questions she had now.

Katherine relaxed. So Sir Hellsing was a woman, this would not be as scary as she had begun to think. She brushed off her shirt and quickly ran her fingers through her hair hoping she did not look too frumpy.

"I know how to carry a polite conversation on with someone, maybe you should take your own advice," Katherine was sure she would never be able to get along with this man. He was older than her by hundreds of years, yet he got on her nerves as bad as the boys in high school. He did not even act outerly immature, but there was just something about him that got under her skin. Maybe it was the fact that he could literally get under her skin, but she did not think so. She felt like even though he was composed on the outside, he was immature, pompous, and too proud of himself on the inside. It was all the elements that were needed to make the perfect pig of a man.

Alucard knocked on the huge doors and then disappeared. Katherine jumped and frantically looked around. Sure she could not stand him, but she did not want to go in and meet this woman on her own. At least she knew who Alucard was and had met him three times. She did not have much time to panic for someone answered to the knock on the door.

"Enter," the voice sounded a bit tired and annoyed. Katherine put on her most cheerful face and walked into the large office.

The room was very large, but did not contain much. On the far side of the room across form the doors stood a simple wooden desk with a window behind it. The curtains were drawn and a fireplace was burning to the right. The flames flickered high and threw long shadows across the floor. They twisted and turned and Katherine thought they almost looked alive. A large painting of a man hung above the fireplace.

Integra motioned for Katherine to sit down in the chair in front of her desk. She continued looking through files and paper work for a bit before she looked up and surveyed the girl. She looked remarkably like her mother in the face and with her dark brown hair, but her eyes were a beautiful shade of green like her fathers. The two stared at each other for a moment taking in all the visual information as they could.

Katherine thought Integra looked nice enough. Her glasses were too big for her face, but if she took them off and wore something more feminine she would be very pretty. She supposed dressing like that helped her maintain power in her organization. When women did not flaunt themselves men were likely to treat them more equally.

Integra finally spoke, "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, I guess," Katherine did not feel rude about saying this. This woman was the reason her life was completely changed in a matter of hours. Why should it be nice to meet her at all?

Integra raised her eyebrows, but chose not to make any comments, "Do you have any questions about what Alucard told you?"

"No. What else is there? He told it pretty straight forward didn't he?" Katherine looked down at her feet and shuffled them around. It was so dark in the room she could not imagine how Integra could see. Maybe that was why she needed to wear glasses. The room felt spooky too, like it was not just the two of them in it.

"Yes I suppose he did tell it straight," Integra tried to feel pity for the girl but could not. A lot of worse things could happen in someone's life; at least she was being offered a place to stay.

"He also told me I could leave tomorrow if I didn't want to stay, but I'm beginning to think he lied," Katherine did not bother looking up. She knew what the answer would be.

There was a short silence in which Integra lit a cigar and breathed it in deeply.

"Those will kill you ya know," Katherine offered her a sarcastic smile. She hoped she had at least some sense of humor.

Integra was humored by the girl's boldness, "Yes, Alucard was lying and unfortunately you must stay here, but you may continue on with your schooling if you wish."

Katherine sighed, which she had been doing a lot of lately. "So that's it? I'm just freeloading here?" she had never been a lazy child and she did not like the sound of living in someone else house without paying for it or helping them out in some way.

"We could give you a job if you like," Integra had an idea of what job Katherine might ask for.

"What exactly did my parents do again?" she tried to look serious.

"They destroyed vampires," Integra waited for her response.

"How about I do that," Katherine knew what the answer would be, but she still stared at Integra very sincerely.

"Hm, why don't we start you off with something a bit easier," she couldn't think of anything off the top of her head but she was sure Walter could use some help cleaning things and maybe cooking.

"Like what?" Katherine knew she was in for something incredibly boring, but maybe if she was going to be here for a long time she could gain their trust and ask for something cooler to do later on.

Integra smiled, "We'll talk about it in the morning. You've had a long two days, get some rest." She picked up the phone and spoke, "We're finished Walter."

Walter came through the double doors barely a minute later.

"Please take Miss Deschain to her new room," Integra snuffed out her cigar as she spoke.

Katherine let out a morose sigh. 'New room' sounded so official and permanent.

Integra looked at Katherine, "We'll work everything out tomorrow, Katherine."

Katherine nodded to her, "Okay. Goodnight then."

"Follow me Miss."

Katherine got up form the chair and followed Walter through the doors. They closed by themselves and she wondered if they were automatic. They went back the direction Alucard had brought her from but kept walking straight instead of going back down the stairs. The hallways were lined with doors and Katherine wondered if each room was full or perhaps they were just spare rooms. She would have to try them one day when she had time to explore. They took another left and about twenty yards later a right. She tried to remember which way he was taking her, but it became difficult when they made another right just ten yards after the last one. She felt like she was being led in a circle. The ceiling of each hallway was lit with glass orbs which were placed far enough apart so that the ceiling and walls in between them became darker in the center. Katherine hope none of them ever went out or it would be incredibly creepy to have to walk down a half dark hall.

At last they arrived at a pretty wooden door on the left side of the hall.

"Here you are Miss Deschain," Walter opened the door for her and bowed. "Your bags are already inside."

"You can just call me Cat," being called by her last name always made her feel like a stranger. If you couldn't call someone you were living with by their first name how could you ever feel at home?

Walter stood back up and held his hand out to her, "it is a please to meet you Cat. My name is Walter and I am Sir Integra butler."

Katherine took his hand and gave it a hearty shake. She remembered her father telling her how important a hand shake was when she was little.

Walter continued, "If you need anything please do not hesitate to ask."

Katherine felt a bit relieved at Walters's kindness, "Alright I won't."

"Goodnight Miss Cat," Walter bowed again.

Katherine giggled under her breath, "Goodnight Walter."

Walter turned and walked back down the hallway and Katherine waited for him to turn the corner. She peered down the other end of the hallway and shuddered as a chill went up her spine. The lights gave the hall a horrible ominous glow. She felt like she was cut off from society. She shrugged off the chill and turned to enter her new room.

Car let out a squeal of delight. The room was absolutely beautiful. The walls were a rich cream color and right in the center was a massive four poster bed complete with a red canopy and red linens to match. On either side of the bed were beautiful mahogany night stands and little bed side lamps with shades to match the bed. At the foot of the bed sat an ancient looking trunk bound in dark brown leather. To the left of the bed was a window with deep crimson curtains drawn and to the left of the door against the wall was an exquisite wardrobe made of rich mahogany like the nightstands. On the other side of the door against the wall was a stunning book shelf packed full of books both old and new. The last thing that caught Cat's attention was an old wooden roll top desk sitting against the wall opposite the window. It did not match the elegant mahogany that the other furniture was made of, but it was beautiful none the less. It looked as though it had been owned many times before. Cat fantasized about all the famous scholars that had owned the desk and now it was hers to sit at and create works of genius. She giggled furious and closed to door behind her. She searched the rooms for her bags and put on a pair of pajamas. Exploring could wait until tomorrow. She pulled back the thick goose down covers on the bed and climbed in. It was so incredibly soft and warm she fell asleep almost instantly.

Across the mansion Integra sat in her office thinking. Alucard drifted back and forth in front of her desk, floating a few inches from the ground.

"What troubles you my Master?" he smirked knowing exactly what the reason was.

"Do not tease me vampire, I am not in the mood," she slipped a hand under her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "Do you really think keeping this girl here will work out for our gain?"

"It all depends on the girl Master, if she is willing to work towards what her parents could do," he leaned back and floated on an invisible chair. "She certainly has the potential and of course the arrogance of her father."

"Yes I've noticed. She seems to have the wits of her mother as well," Integra thought for a moment, "but none of those things will matter if she doesn't have an eye for the gun."

"This is very true Master, but we will see soon enough. Perhaps giving her a job cooking and cleaning in the soldier's barracks will help her along. They'll taunt her, and if she is strong enough it will encourage her to prove she is not just a house maid. If she is not strong enough, well then it will prove to us that she is only a house maid," Alucard yawned from boredom. Chasing after a young girl had not been his idea of action. He hoped that tomorrow night there would be something more challenging, but things had been slow recently and he did not think he would be so lucky.

"You are dismissed Alucard," she leaned back in her chair and opened her desk drawer to get another cigar.

"You know Master, that girl is right," he began to fade away slowly.

"Right about what?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

He continued to disappear until only a toothy grinned remained.

"Those things will kill you."

She rolled her eyes and the grin vanished with a pop.

Integra took a quick puff of the cigar and then put it out. She got out of her chair for the first time all day and slowly walked out of her office and closed the door behind her.


	10. Breakfast of Champions

It's hard to watch Queen of the Damned and Hellboy and write at the same time :-/  
I cut this chapter in half since it was taking so long to write.  
enjoy.

**Breakfast of Champions**

Katherine woke up as the sun crept through the crack in her curtains. The ray made a perfect road of light across the room and up the bed onto her face. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked around.

"So it wasn't just a crazy dream," she stretched lazily and smiled.

She kicked off the coverers and rolled onto the floor. She considered making the bed but decided it would be homier if she didn't. She went over to the window and drew the curtains back expecting a breath taking view. No such luck, she could only see the roofs tops of the rest of the mansion and the tops of trees. The sky looked pretty though. She stood for starring for a few moments and then a deep rumble caught her attention. It was her stomach. She had not eaten dinner the night before. The clock on the bed side table revealed that it was only nine o'clock. Cat assumed everyone was already up since they ran the organization and that was most likely a full time job. Sir Integra looked like someone who never slept past seven anyway. Even on the weekend.

Cat dug through her bags looking for something comfortable to wear. Her plans were to wander around the mansion all day and hope she did not get lost. If she did she was sure one of the many doors would have a room she could just stay in if no one came along to find her. She smiled at the thought of being lost in someone's house. Though it was bigger than any house she had ever seen before, it was still only a house. She began to put on her shoes then stopped to think if she even needed them. She wouldn't wear shoes in her own house, but then again she would probably be walking a lot so shoes might help. She brushed her hair and took a quick look in the mirror to be sure she was presentable in the off chance that she saw anyone in the halls.

Cat opened the door and peeked into the hall to make sure no one was around. She was pretty sure Walter had brought her from the right so she closed her door and began a quick pace in that direction. She tried relying on some kind of hidden instinct to tell her which way was correct but she quickly found she had none. She resorted to guessing and leisurely traveled down halls twisting and turning throughout the mansion. She finally came to a flight of stares and decided to take them down to a lower floor where the kitchen most likely was. After about ten minutes she found another flight going down so she was finally on the ground floor. Five minutes later she found the entrance to the mansion and took the hall Walter had taken the previous night. This hall was lined with windows looking out onto the front grounds of the mansion. Cat could see the iron fence they had come through and watched as cars passed by on the road and people walked by on the sidewalk. Katherine was positive none of them had any idea about what was inside the mansion. Maybe they even thought it was vacant. The hall stretched on for about forty feet and then Cat spotted the blessed double swinging doors. She delightfully pushed through them to find a splendidly furnished kitchen. She had always loved cooking but in her aunts house the oven had been very old and never heated to the right temperature. This kitchen had multiple ovens set into the wall and stacked on top of each other. There was numerous gas powered stove tops lining one side of the kitchen and many fridges and cabinets on the other side. In the middle was a marble topped island with beautiful copper pots hanging above it and the best part, a magnetic tower with a cornucopia of Henkel blades stuck to it. Cat squealed in delight. It was like a wonderful dream and she never wanted to wake up.

"Thank the lord I don't have to!" she immediately set to work looking through the fridges and cabinets and helping herself to all the pots, pans, and utensils. She made herself a huge breakfast and sat down at the counter and enjoyed it slowly.

Meanwhile across the mansion Integra had been up since six. She did not want to give Katherine a job she would not be able to do well, but she did not know what Katherine was good at. She called Walter in to help her think something up.

"Walter what is it that teenage girls like doing for work?" she placed an elbow on her desk and rested her chin on her hand. She had been thinking hard and it was beginning to wear her out.

"Well Sir, I believe they don't like to do anything. Most of them go out shopping or watch television all day and talk on the phone with friends," Walter set up Integra's tea tray on her desk and straightened some paper for her.

"We must find some job for her. I can not have a child running around here idly," she pinched her eyebrows together and squinted.

Alucard materialized into the room, "The girl seems to be very comfortable in the kitchen."

"What ever is she doing in there?" Walter asked

"She has been in there for the past hour cooking her breakfast," Alucard picked some lint off his shoulder and yawned. It was very late for a vampire to still be awake.

"Well that's perfect. Walter you will teach her how to cook nutritious meals for the soldiers three times a day and how her how to do the inventory and order more supplies. She should be able to handle it it's an easy job," with that settled she began to shuffle with papers again.

Walter let out a little sigh. Cooking three times a day for the Hellsing army was anything but easy. "Should I begin to train her immediately, Sir?"

"No, let her wander around the house for today. She needs to learn to navigate herself here so we don't have to send a search party for her all the time," Integra remembered getting lost once when she was very small. Afterwards she took it upon herself to know every part of the mansion. "I hope she can handle the Wild Geese. I don't think I could handle any teenager breakdowns."

"She did handle Alucard rather well," Walter reminded her.

"Yes, that she did," Integra lifted her head to look at Alucard, but he had already disappeared.


	11. Determination

read and review this please  
thanks

**Determination**

When Cat finished her breakfast she cleaned up the kitchen and made sure she put everything away in its place. Then she set off down the hallway to explore. She had decided she would try each door she came to unless it looked like something she should not open. As she traveled down the halls she pulled on each doorknob, but each one held fast. She decided to go up one floor to see if any were unlocked there. She found the front staircase with ease and gave herself a pat on the back. Not many doors were unlocked on this level either. The ones that were contained either covered furniture or nothing at all. She quickly became tired of her failure and moved to the floor above hoping there would at least be bedrooms. The first hallway she went down was completely locked except for one which contained only a sheet on the floor. Cat thought maybe someone had planned to paint it, but never got around to it. It was understandable. Who had time to paint a room when they were running a monster hunting organization? She closed the door on the pathetic room and turned down the next hallway. This one was more fruitful. She found many doors unlocked and most of them were furnished bedrooms. None of them were as fabulous as her room up stairs, but they were all more beautiful than any room she had seen before. She spent only a moment looking into each room before she moved to try the next door.

After seeing about thirty rooms she became tired of seeing the same thing so she sat on the floor to think. She was sure a place like this had something interesting hiding in one or more of the rooms. The trick was to find which floor and which room it was in. If she was an organization that hunted vampires and even harbored one on the premises, where would she hide paranormal secrets?

The basement of course, so she got up and quickly found the stairs again. Once she was on the ground floor she set off down the hallway towards the kitchen and continued on until she came to the end and made a right. She checked each door, but none had the dismal stone stairs she was looking for. She made a left turn after she had been walking for awhile and saw that it came to a dead end. She checked the doors on either side and found them all locked. Exasperated, she walked to the end of the hall and looked at the stone wall. Unlike the rest of the house its wall was bare. She turned around in defeat and leaned against the cold stone. She felt the wall shift under her back and whipped back around in time to see the wall move backward and then slide to the side leaving an opening leading to a dimply lit hall. Finally all of Cats efforts had paid off.


	12. Exploration

read and review

**Exploration**

Katherine was excited. She had not had anything to look forward to in the past three days. Finally her life was getting interesting. She walked into the new hallway and the hidden stone door slid closed behind her. Luckily the hall was lit with the same lights as the ones on the upper floors; otherwise things would have been completely black.

The lights at the end of the hall were out and she could only see as far as about thirty yards, after that the hall turned into a black hole. She surveyed the old wooden doors running up and down either side of the hall. They were cracked and battered from old age and she wondered what kind of things they and the walls had seen. The hall was so quiet Cat thought of the cliché about hearing a pin drop, but you honesty could. She cautiously stepped up to the first door. The knob was oversized and slightly rusty and placed below it was an old fashion skeleton key lock. She closed her fist around the knob and twisted it to the left then the right. Locked.

She turned to the other side of the hall undiscouraged and tried the opposite door. It was identical to the locked one but considerably more damaged. Also, this one gave way when she turned the handle. A gust of air rushed out carrying a putrid smell. Cat let go of the handle to cover her nose and the door was blown the rest of the way opened. Cat gasped at the disgusting site inside. The walls were lined with shackles and two of the sets were occupied. The corpses still had leathery skin hanging off their bones and one mans jaw had fallen loose into a perpetual scream. The others head was leaning against his boney arm. Where his eyes had once been were now only two black hollows leaving no hint of what kind of man he once was. As if some spiritual (or perhaps evil) force was dragging her Cat took a step into the room. She gazed at the poor hallowed man. A cockroach crawled out of his eye socket. Cat turned around quickly and closed the door to the room.

She took a deep breath and readied herself to continue to the next door. Two corpses were not going to ruin her day of exploring. She wondered if the rooms on the left side of the hall had windows. After all, she had not gone down any stairs so was still on ground level. Cat zigzagged back to the other side to try the next door. It proved to be unlocked but to Cat's relief no putrid air gushed out. To her disappointment the room was plain and empty with no windows.

She closed the door and started to sing to herself, "Hey, don't let it go to waste  
I love it but, I hate that taste, Weight keeping me down. Done, done, and I'm on to the next one. Done, I'm done, and I'm on to the next."

She giggled at herself and moved on to the next door on the other side. She continued this zigzag pattern back and forth across the hall finding most of the rooms either locked or empty. She was getting closer to the dark abyss at the end of the hall and though she had never been frightened in the slightest of the dark she strongly wished she had come equipped with a flashlight. There were two more doors left in the light and she could see that once the hall grew dark it took a turn to the right. The first was empty except for some rusty chains on the walls. The second one she opened was dark.

Cat stared into the pitch black room. The darkness did not strike her as odd at first until she began to think. None of the other rooms had lights in them either, yet she was still able to see inside by the lights in the hall. She pushed the door fully opened and surveyed the dark. She stepped out of the way to allow the hall light to shine into the doorway. The light seemed to only wash over the entrance instead of continuing into it. It reflected off pieces of dust floating around in the hall. Cat stomped on the rug to release more dust. It puffed up around her feet in little clouds and floated up into the light. When it reached the dark doorway and floated through it was lost by the light. Cat could not understand how it was possible. The dust completely disappeared through the entrance. She stepped closer to the door and listened. The only sound she could hear was a quite whooshing. She stepped even closer and felt cool air seeping out of the black. She inched the toe of her shoe towards the doorway. As soon as it touched the darkness it went through it and disappeared. She pulled it back quickly with a gasp. Next she ventured her hand out and laid it flat against the dark. It felt pleasantly cool like the outside of a refrigerator. She took a deep breathe and pressed her hand through. She stared at the spot where her hand was. It looked like she only had a stub at the end of her arm. She wiggled her fingers in the blackness and the air around them grew colder. It felt like she was touching incredibly light silky water. Or like thick and heavy air. The feeling was indescribable but wonderful and new. She reached her arm farther in and swirled it around. A breeze ruffled Cats hair and shirt. She took another step towards the dark so the tip of her nose just touched the outside of it. She felt a tickle on the back of her head and noticed her hair was reaching out for the darkness as well. The room was sucking her in. For one second Katherine thought about stepping into the cool dark room, but then the precious animal instincts that humans hold deep inside of them awoke. She grabbed the edge of the wall and jerked herself back. She felt an almost sad detachment like a part of her was missing now that she was away from the dark. She reached to close the door but the darkness pulled at her. It created a whirlwind blowing her hair in her face so she couldn't see. The suction became stronger and it took all of Cats energy to pull the door towards her. She muscled the door far enough so the suction of the darkness slammed it shut. The hallway was still again and Katherine sighed in relief. As soon as she relaxed the door began to shake violently. Cat jumped back against the wall and watched as the door bent and banged. It was as if something inside was trying desperately to get out. Cat feared it was not only trying to get out but was trying to get at her. The door abruptly stopped shaking and whatever it was started ramming it over and over again. Cat was frozen in fear until she saw one of the screws in the top hinge bounce onto the floor. She glanced back the way she came then bolted into the unlit part of the hallway and rushed around the corner.

The door continued to be pounded from the other side as Katherine's feet echoed against the cold stone floors. Soon the echo became less audible then disappeared all together. The pounding stopped and the darkness spoke no more.


	13. Anger, Curiosity, Joy and Sorrow

lemme know what you think guys  
i hope you like it  
any suggestions are welcome

**Anger, Curiosity, Joy and Sorrow**

Katherine ran until she could not hear the pounding any more. She ran until she came to a left turn and sharply took it. She ran until her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest. Then she ran some more. Finally Cat could not run any further and she collapsed onto the hard floor and laid there motionless except for the heavy rise and fall of her chest. Eventually her breathing steadied and her heart quieted. She lifted herself up into a sitting position and leaned against the wall. She jumped forward when she felt not the stone under her back but the wood of a door. She narrowed her eyes at it as if she expected it to try and attack her. A quote se once heard came to her mine, "Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light."

Cat stood up and faced the door. She took and deep break and grasped the handle. She readied herself for whatever monstrosity was hiding behind it and pulled it opened. The room was empty like the many others before it. She let out a great sigh of relief and closed it again. What could have been behind that door? Something living or maybe a strange entity? She hoped there was another way to get back to the main part of the house because she did not want to pass by the door again.

Cat decided that she would continue opening doors and snooping in the room, but this time she would snoop without crossing the threshold and if she found anymore more with the silky blackness she would close it and run.

She resumed her zigzagging which she had become very fond of. Most of these rooms were empty as well and Cat was becoming annoyed. What a stupid place this was having all of these rooms and nothing in them! She continued thinking about this as she opened one empty room after another. With each one she became angrier and by the fifth one she had started to swing them opened hard enough for them to slap against the wall and bounce back to her hand so she could slam them shut again. As she stormed down the hall molesting the doors she noticed light coming out from the last door in the hall on the right. She abandoned her attempt to throw the doors off their hinges and crept towards the light. When she got there she was still very mad and gave herself the thought that maybe it was only a lamp inside the room. This caused her even more anguish so she grabbed the door and swung it opened harder than all the others.

Cat's hands shot to her ears as a tremendous noise bellowed from the room. It was like hundreds of chainsaws all buzzing at once and she could feel her eardrums vibrating under her fingers. She looked on in horror at the site in the room. Thousands of wasps, bees, and hornets were flying around in all direction. They filled the room from floor to ceiling. It was so thick with them Cat could not even see the wall on the other side. Her eyes were frozen wide opened and began to tear from the wind blown towards them by tens of thousands of wings. One of the bees noticed her and she saw it through the crowd fly at her. She finally screamed and quickly slammed the door on the dreadful site.

As soon as it shut the hall was quiet once more. Cat daringly pressed her ear against the door but nothing could be heard. She wondered how Sir Integra could keep so many bees in a room. She had not noticed any hives and she thought that bees and wasps did not get along. She surveyed the door with curiosity. It easily overtook her and she edge the door slowly opened once more. The room appeared empty at first but she soon noticed a mirror in the corner. In front of it sat a small child. He looked at himself in the mirror and swayed side to side trying to decide if it was him inside the shiny glass. He lifted one hand and then the other. He put his hands to his cheeks and pulled them into a frown then giggled as the mirror image did the same. He gave the mirror a little knock and tried to push his way through it. When he could not he put a pudgy little hand to his forehead and cocked his head. Katherine laughed and closed the door.

"It must be a magical room," she thought.

She was overjoyed at finally finding something interesting and not potentially deadly.

She waited a moment and then opened the door again. To her amazement the room no longer had walls. A grassy field spread out as far as she could see. It was filled with dozens of different kinds of flowers and she could see a little stream cutting a path across it. She heard laughing and glanced up to see a carnival off in the distance. She could see a huge ferris wheel rising above the carnival and could hear screams of joy as people rode small roller coasters. Despite her previous resolve to never enter one of the rooms again she could not help herself. The cool breeze and sound of people having fun was too much and she took a step onto the soft green grass. As soon as her foot touched the ground the room was normal again. Four plain stone walls and no beautiful flowers or ferris wheel. Cat was disappointed but she had known deep inside that something that magical was too good to be true. As she stood in the doorway of the room feeling sorrowful the ceiling began to darken and strange clouds gathered. Cat looked at them and they grew larger. One of them flashed bright and then thunder crashed causing her to jump. The clouds opened and rain poured down from them in big fat drops. Cat watched the rain curiously but felt no moisture from it though she was still standing part way in the room.

"A room of emotions," she turned around and closed the door.


	14. The Secret Halls of Hellsing

i was at a wedding event for three days and sadly had no time to write  
but i did catch the bouquet! you're invited to my wedding if you review ;-)

**The Secret Halls of Hellsing**

Katherine was tiring of walking around the halls. She had given up opening the doors because she knew she would find nothing, something scary to run from or something just weird. She came to a set of stairs that led to the left so she took them rather than following the hall straight. She wondered if things on the lower levels would be worse than the things up here. The darker places became the scarier and slimier the creatures you found in there were. Daunting as this thought was Cat continued down the stairs without bothering to return upstairs to get a flash light first. Once she reached the bottom she was relieved to find that the hall was lit with torches. They burned low but let off enough light so she could see where she was going. She touched one to see if it would wiggle in its hold and gladly found it did. She gave it a tug and it came out of the metal rings with ease. Now equipped with a fair source of light she felt more confident about her trek through the unknown.

She wove her way around the basement opening random doors and usually finding nothing. Much of the hallways down below did not even have doors. They were simply stone walls that stretched on and on until one came to a fork and wisely chose the way to go. Cat stopped halfway down a hall that did contain doors and sat down. It was disappointing to be in a place with so much space and so many rooms and not find anything spectacular. For you see, one must understand that simply being a mansion is not reason enough to contain worldly oddities in each and every room. If one wishes to be entertained by this type of place they must simply stop expecting great things and begin creating great things themselves.

Cat stood up and started running up and down the hall. She opened each door and put on a wonderfully surprised face for whatever the room might contain. When it did not contain anything she kept her cheery gasp intact and went on to the next door. After many halls full of empty rooms she finally noticed something odd. In all of the halls the doors were evenly spaced and if one was to enter they would be able to tell that the rooms were exactly side by side. However, Katherine noticed two doors that were considerably farther apart than all the others. In fact you could fit a door for another room between them. Cat opened both the doors to see if the rooms were just larger than the rest, but found they were the same size.

She comically scratched her chin, "Hm, a secret room. I wonder what Hellsing hides in this one. Treasure perhaps. Or maybe something more sinister!" She gave the wall a little kick but found it to be quite solid. For a more accurate reading she lifted her leg in the air and slammed the bottom of her shoe flat on the wall. The force of the blow caused her to stumble backwards but the wall let out a hollow clunk that echoed down the hall and back up it again. Katherine smiled to herself glad she had finally discovered something neither menacing nor weird.

"So it is a secret room," she said, "one of these days I will have to find out what they hide in there and more importantly how they get in."

After roaming the halls a bit longer Cat became hungry. She wondered what time it was and decided it must be at least one o'clock since she could hear her stomach growl even after her large breakfast. She turned around and retraced her steps only making a wrong turn once. Despite knowing where she was going it took her an entire hour to get back to the original hall she had come down. She had traveled a very long way and despite having gone down only one set of stairs she was very far underground. The floors slopped ever so slightly and she had not noticed she was traveling in a spiral.

When she reached her original secret hallway she stopped dead. The door that had rattled on its hinges stood still now and stared her down. Cat slowly began walking past it without taking her eyes off of its rusty little knob. Once she was a few feet away she sprinted back to the secret wall and gave it a brisk push. It slid aside for her and she stepped through and went down the sunny kitchen hall without another look back.

Alucard stood in the door way watching Cat as she walked down the hall and turned into the kitchen. What a strange person she was, to be scared of something yet continue on to something darker and unknown. It would have been interesting to see what she would have done if the thing behind the door got out before she had a chance to run away. He laughed as he imagined what her face might have looked like. Of course she would not have been able to tell how she felt during the whole experience. She would only have her face frozen for eternity in a horrific scream much like the dead man chained to the wall in the other room she dared to explore. It would be entertaining to have her around for awhile and watch how she reacts to the various surprises Hellsing had to offer. Perhaps if she continued to be inquisitive and brave she could have the job her parents once held. Though they were humans and disgusting in Alucards eyes he held the same respect for them as he did for Walter, be it only a small amount. They had not been sniveling pigs like most of the humans in England that Hellsing was obligated to protect. While most humans would be deathly afraid of him he could only sense a small amount of fear in Mr. and Mrs. Deschain when he became incredibly angry or showed his true self and as soon as it came they gained control of it and it would disappear. He sensed in them the same bravery his master held within herself and because of this had agreed to work with them on larger missions.

The stone wall slid back into place and Alucard stepped though it and walked down the hall. He looked through the window of the kitchen door to see Cat animatedly talking to Walter. No doubt she was telling him of her experiences in the secret halls of Hellsing.

Cat glanced up at the kitchen door but saw no one at the window.

"Is there something wrong Miss Cat?" Walter asked her as he stirred a bowl of pudding.

"I could have sworn I saw someone standing at the window. I guess it was only my imagination," she continued on with her story to Walter.

Outside the kitchen door Alucard walked down the hallway with the upper part of his body invisible.

"Indeed she will make an interesting addition to the Hellsing household," he laughed as he made his way to Integra's office.


	15. Too Late

So I just saw on youtube last night that there is going to be a Hellsing live action movie  
Needless to say i nearly crapped my pants. I did some more searching and I am pretty sure it's really going to happen. Hopefully it wont be lame, it said it was going to be called Seras Victoria but that it would still follow the original story line. Theres a teaser trailer but it only makes having to wait for the actual movie worse. They say its going to be filmed in England. I'm anxious to see who will play Alucard.  
Well anyway, read and review

**Too Late**

Cat finished telling Walter her story about everything that had happened that afternoon. She had considered not telling anyone in fear she would get in trouble for snooping so much, but in the end decided it did not matter and perhaps Walter would have some good advice to give her for her next adventure.

"Well Miss it seems you have had a very busy afternoon," Walter continued stirring his pudding.

"I really did. What are you making anyway?" she clamored onto one of the bar stools to better see.

"I am preparing some after dinner pudding for the soldiers. They've been working very hard lately and I thought they could use something to lift their spirits a bit. Would you like to help me?" he stopped stirring and looked at her.

Cat sat back and considered him for a moment. Walter looked far older than Alucard, but even though Alucard looked nearly perfect she would much rather be around Walter. He had the most impeccable manners Cat had seen in a long time and he was still very handsome for someone his age.

"I would love to help you Walter," she smiled wondering what important task he would give her.

"Here you go then. Stir this pudding," he pushed the bowl towards her and began getting out pots and pans to cook lunch.

"Stirring pudding! Is that all you trust me with? I guess I will have to earn everyone's trust before I get to do anything fun, is that right?" Cat settled in her chair and began whisking the pudding in little circles.

"Well Miss Cat, Sir Integra has decided that your job is going to be cooking for the soldiers and doing the kitchen inventory. She got the idea from Alucard who saw you cooking yourself breakfast this morning. He said you looked very at home running around the kitchen," Walter dumped two five pound packs of hamburger onto a giant flat grill and started chopping it up.

"Did he now? Well I suppose I am pretty good at cooking, but you're going to have to show me how to cook for so many people at once," Cat dipped her finger into the pudding and made a face. It tasted boring and had absorbed flavor from the box it had no doubt come in.

"Don't worry I will show you everything you need to know and you will be cooking in no time. You must learn all of the proper healthy ingredients that we try to fit into each dish every night. Many of the soldiers are like children and refuse to eat vegetables so we hide then in different things and sometimes place vita…what ever are you doing?" Walter stopped chopping the meat and looked around at Cat. She was digging through each cabinet with the bowl of pudding tucked under her arm.

"It needs something extra. Have you ever tasted it? It's a bit like cardboard. I know men eat anything but it should really taste good if they've been working hard all day," she finally found a cabinet full of powders and ground herbs and started digging through them. Finally she pulled out a bottle of cocoa powder and nutmeg. She opened the bottles and shook some in, tasted the pudding, and shook more in.

"Here Walter give it a taste," she spooned some out and handed it to him.

"Hm, very lovely, but maybe if you add some cinnamon?" he reached in the cabinet and pulled out a bottle.

"That's a great idea! See now you're thinking outside the box," Cat sprinkled in some cinnamon and tasted the pudding again. "It tastes wonderful now," she smiled at Walter as he tasted some as well.

"It is a great improvement. This is why you are now in charge of food preparation and cooking," Walter gave her an official type of nod and went back to cooking the hamburger.

"So what do you do all day Walter?" Cat walked over to the stove to watch him cook. She enjoyed learning by example rather than being told how to do something. It was so much easier to just mimic what someone else did.

"This is a very large place as I am sure you have discovered. I clean the rooms that are used most offend, prepare meals for the soldiers, and tend to whatever Sir Integra or Alucard may need," he scooped up the hamburger meat and dumped it into a massive stock pot.

"You have to do what Alucard says?!" Cat was shocked.

"No of course not Miss Cat, when I say tend to him I simply mean bring him a blood pack from the freezer when he wakes up in the evening. Other than that he takes care of himself, not that there s much to take care of when one is deceased," Walter smiled to himself, pleased with his joke.

"So does that mean now that I am in charge of the kitchen I will have to bring him blood packs," Cat looked at Walter with worry in her eye. She did not want to carry a bag full of blood into a dungeon and hand it to a hungry vampire who had just woken up.

"Well I had hoped you would. I've been growing very tired of his sarcasm," he looked down at Cat and saw the look of tread on her face. "Oh it won't be as bad as you think. He isn't going to bother you he will just take the blood pack and then you will walk away. Try not to be so worried about it."

Cat sighed deeply and watched as Walter poured giant cans of crushed tomatoes into the stock pot. They made wet plopping sounds and splashed red slop onto the side of the pot. She began to think about bags full of blood and became queasy.

"Let me show you the freezer and you can take Alucard a blood pack and Sir Integra her tea. It's best to get it over with now this way you will know what to expect the next time when I am not around," Walter led her to a big door that looked similar to a bank vault.

"Now that you don't have to do the cooking Walter what will you do with all your spare time?" Cat tried to keep her mind off the hanging meat in the freezer.

"I will spend the time I would be spending cooking in the library catching up on reading. Each day you will begin to cook at six in the morning, one in the afternoon, and five in the evening. You will find me in the library during that time in the event that you need help. There is an intercom by the kitchen door with a button labeled library. Push it and talk into the speaker and I will direct you through there or in the event of something more seriously I will come and help. Here we are Miss Cat, the blood packs are kept at the very back of the freezer. Avoid giving him the O positives even if he asks for them. We like to keep them on hand in case someone needs a hasty transfusion," Walter smiled at her and placed a cold bag of blood in her hand.

Cat looked at it and she followed Walter out of the freezer. The scarlet fluid filled the bag perfectly leaving no air bubbles for it to slosh around in. She continued to stare at it as Walter made Integra's tea. She wondered if it tasted the same to a vampire as it tasted to her. Maybe it did and they just liked the coppery taste and how it quickly thickened and coated their tongue. Or maybe it tasted like something completely different when you were dead. She hoped she would never have to find out and she was definitely never going to ask.

"Here you are Miss Cat," Walter held a tea tray out for her. "Be very careful walking up the stairs and when you arrive you needn't bother to knock. Just walk in, place the tray on the edge of her desk, pour the tea, and leave. Alucard should be in the office with her at this time. Hand him the blood pack on your way out and don't feel obligated to say anything unless someone says something to you. Then you may retaliate with whatever come back you deem fit."

Cat looked at him to see if he was joking but he looked very serious. She took the tray from him and started out the door.

"Come back here when you are done and I will continue showing you around the kitchen and we will go over the food pyramid," Walter watched her walk out the door and then went back to his cooking pot. He knew Cat would do fine. She was very brave and even though Alucard tried his best to intimidate everyone she had enough wits and sarcasm to snap back at him with something clever. She would fair well in the Hellsing household just as her mother had.

Cat did not pay attention to what she was doing as she walked towards Integra's office. She knew the way already and walked there like a robot. She could not stop thinking about all the different things that might be said to her when she arrives. She tried to create something to say for each scenario she created but it only made her more nervous. She tried to clear her mind but when she looked up she found she was already at the door to the office. She set the tray on the floor, opened the door just a tiny bit, picked the tray up again, and then pushed the door the rest of the way with her side. Inside the office Integra was writing something down and Alucard was standing by the corner of her desk. She wasn't sure if they had been talking or if they were just weird and always kept each other company in silence. She walked to the edge of the desk and waited for Alucard to move so she could set the tray down. He looked at her and smirked without moving.

Cat cleared her throat and looked at him, "Excuse me, please."

To her surprise he took a step back so she could set the tea tray down. She poured Integra's tea and placed the tea cup on her desk. She hesitated for a moment and then placed the tea pot there as well.

Integra stopped writing for a moment and looked at the tea pot. Walter usually took it with him and if she wanted more tea she would call him. She chuckled and remembered how she had done the same thing with the pot when she brought her father tea when she was young. She watched to see how Cat would handle giving Alucard the blood pack.

Cat picked the blood pack up buy its corner and turned around to face Alucard. She held it out to him at arms length and looked at him politely as she waited for him to take it. He did not move to take the pack but only stood with his hands in his pockets looking at her. Cat smiled a bit more and wiggled the pack thinking if vampires were anything like animals this would make him want it more.

Alucard did not try and suppress his laughter. Who did this girl think she was, wiggling a blood pack at him like he was some kind of animal? He had to admit she was brave, but he wondered how long it would be before she overused this bravery and let it turn into a stupid mistake.

Cat had had enough of being laughed at by a pet monster. It was ridiculous how high and mighty he felt when he was not even free to do what he wanted. He had to rely on someone else to get him packs of blood from a freezer and did not even have free rein to go out and suck blood from the flesh of the living. If she was going to be the one to bring him food it was going to be on her terms.

"Fine then," Cat plopped the blood pack back on the tray and turned to leave.

"Well aren't you gutsy taking away a vampires meal," Alucard waited for her to turn around but she did not.

"I tried to give it to you but its too late now. You will just have to wait until dinner," Cat walked out of the office and closed the door behind her. She was shaking a little but she felt very please with herself. She walked back towards the kitchen excited to tell Walter all about what had happened.

Integra waited until she was sure Cat was gone before she burst out laughing. Alucard narrowed his eyes at her and a sulky look passed over his face.

"That was priceless; I am going to enjoy having that girl around if she keeps up these antics. I didn't think I would live to see the day that someone besides me stood up to your cruelty," she took a sip of tea and started writing again.

"May I be dismissed Master," Alucard spoke through clenched teeth.

"Yes you may, but you leave that girl alone. That is an order do you understand?" Integra didn't bother looking at him. She knew that he did not dare hurt her, but she preferred it if he did not play any tricks on her either. She did not want to deal with a teenage girl crying to her that all her hair had been cut off or all her clothes were torn apart and covered in dog drool.

"Of course Master," he read what was on her mind, "I wouldn't dream of it."


	16. Hounds of Baskervilles

**Hounds of Baskervilles  
**

Alucard was well used to the tight feeling he got in his chest when he stretched the rules Integra set for him. He knew he was not in serious danger because he was not technically going against what she had said. He was not bothering Cat at all in fact he was no where near her. She was at the opposite end of the house in the kitchen being taught by Walter and he was on the third floor in her room.

He had considered what Integra had thought for a good fifteen minutes before he decided to go for her clothes rather than her hair. It would be much more difficult to cut her hair since that would require him physically bothering her. He opened the armoire to find that she had not even bothered to look inside. If she had she would have found beautiful hand made Victorian style dresses that Integra had kept from when she was younger. He also opened the burrow and found that she still had not unpacked her things. He picked up one of her duffle bags off the floor and turned it upside down spilling all her clothing out. He then proceeded dumping the clothing out of the other bag.

Slowly dark shadows poured out from under his coat like heavy black smoke. His arms turned black and stretched out towards the clothing as they took the shape of two wolfish dog heads. They grew multiple eyes along their skulls and started drooling and snapping at the clothes. The black smoke at his feet also morphed into two more hell hounds and they began excitedly running around the room waiting for their orders. The two from his arms continued to stretch out until they had grown front legs. Alucard let them plop onto the floor in a great black blob and watched them wriggle until two more legs popped out from the back of them. They stood up and shook themselves while the other two joined them. They all four stared up at Alucard their eyes gleaming in anticipation.

"Destroy," the hounds became excited and started to race around the room, "the clothing and nothing else. Do you understand?"

They howled in response and began biting and chewing at Cats clothes.

"Return to me when you are finished. Do not let anyone see you," Alucard watched them for a bit longer then let himself sink slowly into the floor. He knew Integra would be very angry with him but it was well worth it to get back at the brat for thinking she could snap at him.

"Well Miss Cat I believe that will be enough learning for today," Walter had shown Cat the mechanics of the entire kitchen and had gone over most of the approved menu with her.

"Do I have to make the dishes on this list or can I make up my own as long as they have the right nutrition?" there were only about twenty dishes on the list and Cat was sure the soldiers had eaten each one many times.

"You may change and add things as you see fit. You are in charge of the kitchen now and I expect you to be up and cooking by six sharp tomorrow morning," he tried to look stern but he was enjoying the company or Cat very much. It was almost like having young Integra back but a bit less serious.

"Of course Walter. You know you don't have to get up that early if you don't want to. I'm sure I'll be able to cook breakfast for them without needing any help," Cat stared at the menu thinking up different things she could make for everyone tomorrow.

"That is very kind of you Miss Cat but I am so used to getting up then I do not think I could sleep any later. Now remember one of the soldiers will be here at seven with a cart for all the food. Make sure you have it ready in the containers and he will load it himself and take it down to them. Usually they bring it back around eight with all their dishes so perhaps find a book to read while you wait."

"That's a good idea. I'll drop by the library before I go to bed. Do you know if there's any Stephen King?" Cat began reading Stephen King when she was young. Her Aunt had many of his books and encouraged her to read them. She went on and on about how fantastic he was until cat agreed to try one. She first read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon when she was eight and had fallen instantly in love with the style and excitement it held. From then on she was a die hard fan.

"Oh I'm sure you will find a couple in there. The late Sir Hellsing fancied reading those books in his spare time," Walter finished wiping off a counter and then led Cat out of the kitchen.

They parted in the foyer and Katherine made her way up to the library. She started looking through the books and found that they were in order by author.

"Thank goodness," she sighed. It would have been awful trying to find one if they weren't.

She went down the isle until she got to K and climbed a latter a few shelves up to reach better. She was overjoyed to find at least thirty Stephen King books in a perfect line on the shelf. She had not yet read The Green Mile so she plucked it from the shelf and jumped down excited to begin right away. She thought about staying in the library to read but thought it would be awkward if someone walked in so she set of to her room. As she walked through the halls she started reading the book. She reached her door and went into the room without looking up. As she walked towards her bed she stepped on something gooey and her foot slid a little. She caught herself before she fell and looked around the room.

"ALUCARD!" her voice echoed through the mansion halls.

Alucard sat in a chair next to his coffin sucking on the tube from a blood pack. He glanced up when he heard his name and a devilish grin crossed over his face. He looked down next to him at the sleeping hell hound and gave it a pat on the head.

"Good boy," he cooed at the monster then slumped back in his chair to finish his meal.


	17. Shopping

**Shopping**

Cat snatched up one of her mauled slimy shirts and stormed out of the room. She could not believe someone of Alucards age would stoop so low. How had he even ripped them apart so violently? It looked more like he had sent rabid dogs to destroy them rather than torn them up himself. She rushed down the hall to Integra's office and stormed in not even considering to knock.

"What in the world! Have you never heard of knocking?" Integra looked up from her desk very annoyed. She had been in the middle of writing an important letter to the Queen and was having trouble enough as it was.

Cat thrust the tattered piece of fabric at Integra, "Look at this!"

"What exactly am I supposed to be looking at other than an old wet rag?" Integra peered down her nose at the evidence.

"This _was _one of my favorite shirts and it came from the wreckage of all my other clothing!" Cat smacked the shirt down on Integra's desk and it made a wet plop. Her hand was covered in the slim from Alucard's hell hounds but she could care less. It was unbelievable how childish he had acted over a silly pack of blood.

"Alucard destroyed all of your clothes," she was also thinking of how childish it was. She remembered thinking to herself that she hoped he would not do that. He must have pulled the idea out of her mind.

"Yes, unless you have a pack of dogs running around that I haven't seen before then Alucard destroyed my clothes," she wasn't sure what was so hard to believe about it. He probably had tantrums like this all the time. "Well are you going to do anything about it or just sit there?" Cat was angry and did not care if she sounded rude.

"Yes alright," Integra called Alucard to her. Usually he appeared within seconds but he took his time now, a sure sign he was guilty. When he finally appeared he did so right next to Cat and he had brought with him a great black dog. When she noticed it she took a few good steps away. This must be where all the slobber had come from. The dog looked over at Cat, licking his lips and smiling.

"He isn't really smiling though, dogs can't do that," she thought to herself. She heard Alucard snicker.

"Alucard, did you destroy Cats clothing?" Cat wondered why she bothered asking him. It was obvious that he had done it, who else would have? She assumed it was like forcing a child to tell the truth, but she could not picture Alucard getting frustrated or blushing from embarrassment of being caught.

"Of course not Master I did not touch her clothes," Alucard looked over at Cat and smiled. She just glared at him waiting for Integra to speak.

"Well if you did not destroy them who did?" Integra had started staring at her computer screen and moving the mouse around. Cat pictured her playing solitaire.

"My hounds of course. They must have sensed my feelings and took matters into their own hands. Or perhaps their own jaws would be more fitting," Cat was sickened by the look of triumph on his face. Did he think he was going to get off so easily? Integra could not possibly be fooled by such a ridiculous lie.

"Is that so? They just happened to pull away from you without your noticing it and made their way to Katherine's room. Very interesting," Integra made an unusually hard click then frowned.

"Yes Master, may I be dismissed now?" Cat could see him leering at her from the corner of his eye. The dog leered at her as well, but was considerably more menacing.

"Yes, there is a mission so you are dismissed," Integra looked away from the computer and back at Alucard.

"Wait just a minute! You're not going to do anything about what he did! You don't really believe what he's telling you do you?" Cat could not believe she was just going to let him go.

"Of course I do not believe him, but right now there are more important matters at hand. Alucard as your punishment you will take Katherine out tomorrow afternoon to purchase new clothes," she sat back to relish the look on his face.

Both Alucard's and Cat's faces dropped. It was nice of Integra to make Alucard take her shopping but she did not have any money to buy clothes. She started to speak when Alucard cut her off.

"But Master!"

"Do not question me vampire. You acted like a child and now you are being punished for it. Please try not to act like a child through this as well," she reached into a drawer and pulled out a stack of money. She counted out 400 euros and held them out for Cat to take. "Here you go. This should be enough to replace your clothing."

Cat hesitated and stuttered, "But I…It's just that I…"

"Yes I suppose prices have gone up," She counted out 200 more euros.

"No! It isn't that at all. This is too much I can't take it," she was used to never having money and here was this women pushing 600 euros in her face.

"Don't worry. Hellsing has more than enough money to spare. It isn't as though I go out on frivolous shopping sprees like the other well-to-do women in England," Integra placed the money in Cats hand. She had paid Katherine's parents well, but Cat had been too young to enjoy it back then. Taking care of her now and making her comfortable was the least she could do.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you so much," Cat just stared at the money and at Integra.

They heard Alucard scoff. He had walked closer to the desk while the women were occupied and now stood over Cat with a look of hatred on his face. Cat noticed that the dog was now gone and remembered how Integra had said that they just pulled away from him. She guessed that he could spawn different things from his body and she fancied he could turn into a bat as well. She giggled at the notion of him changing into a little bat and bumping against the window to get outside. She heard a deep growl and looked up at him. She could not imagine how angry he might be and she was glad that he was under a binding spell. Even for a vampire so powerful it was a pain to go out in the day time.

"Well I'm going to head off to bed. I want to be well rested for our shopping trip tomorrow," she smiled up at Alucard, "try not to work too hard tonight alright?" She told Integra goodnight and thanked her again then left the room. After she closed the door she could hear the hushed angry yells of Alucard as he pleaded with Integra to choose a different punishment. Cat was glad to see that Integra could pick something so simple and it have such a great affect. Perhaps this would keep all her other possession safe from his wrath. She did not bother cleaning up the mess and hopped right into bed. It had been a long day and she was going to have to wake up early to cook the soldier's breakfast. She instantly fell asleep on the soft downy pillow and dreamed of all the wonderful clothes she would buy the next day.

Back in the office Alucard begged Integra to change the punishment. He would rather have his head sawed off by Anderson than have to go shopping with that girl. Integra was not amused by his prattle. There was an important mission she needed to send him on and he was wasting her time.

"Enough of this nonsense. You will take her shopping and you will wait patiently as she picks things out. If she speaks to you you will respond _politely. _You will be a perfect gentleman and be kind to her. She is going to be here for quite some time Alucard so I suggest you learn to get along. Now back to business, I need you to go to Worcester. There has been an outbreak of freaks and they need to promptly be disposed of before they cause more damage. Investigate as necessary and be back by dawn. You will have a few hours to rest before your shopping trip. Walter will make lunch for the soldiers and I will send the girl to wake you at noon. You are dismissed," she got up and headed for the door.

"Yes my Master," Alucard was furious but he took to heart what Integra had said. The girl was indeed going to be around for quite some time and if he wanted to go back to the way things were he would have to accept her. He gave her credit for being able to make him angry; usually he did not give anyone the satisfaction of that. He left the office for Worcester wondering if he showed the slightest bit of kindness towards Cat if she would immediately let her guard down or remain wary and on her toes. It would be a fine first test for her to show any future abilities she might hold within herself.


	18. A Break for the Future

Precisely 300 words of a glimpse into a possible future.

Through the streets of New York a girl travels with her back pack. She does not blend in with the other people but they fail to notice her. As she walks she thinks of the past few hours and how they have made her feel. Her life had been so simple before but was now full of complex relationships and people far too simple in their minds. She longed for something new and exciting despite her fear of being social. She joined a crowd of people and crossed to the other side of the street. A man bumps into her shoulder and continues walking without even looking up. She stops as her bag falls off and she looks at it lying on the ground. Memories of pointless fights flash through her mind and she pushes them away. She picks up her bag and carries on through the streets. The lights from the signs are bright and her dark hair glistens yet still no one notices her. She passes by an alley and sees a man stealing a woman's purse. The woman screams for help and looks at her with unseeing eyes. The girl continues on and thinks of how stupid the woman has been for going down an alley by herself at night. She finally reaches a green door and pushes a key through the lock. It turns with a rusty screech and she enters the dank building. She walks up each step of the stairs carefully and reaches another green door. She pushes a second key through this lock and enters the small dark apartment. She is relieved to be out of the crowds of people who allow their emotions to govern their pathetic lives.

She chuckles to herself, "Human emotions," and opens the fridge for a drink.


	19. Morning Rituals

finally an update after so long

**Morning Rituals**

Cat awoke at 5:30am the next morning and jumped out of bed to get dressed. She was excited to go shopping and wanted to get started cooking the soldier's breakfast as soon as she could. She slid off the end of the bed and reached her hand into her duffel bag. She let out a great sigh when she remembered the events of the previous night.

Feeling slightly dirty Cat quickly put on her clothes she had been wearing yesterday and ran a comb through her hair. She looked through her duffel bag once again and discovered all her intimates had been destroyed as well.

"Well that is just brilliant," she threw the bag on the floor and stormed out of the room.

Once she was in the kitchen Cat looked over the breakfast criteria and set to work making something both delicious and healthy. She slipped in some of the powdered vitamins Walter had shown her and added some extra spices to mask the taste. Walter had told her the vitamin powder was undetectable but after she had added the recommended dose she took a taste and was disgusted at the bitter under taste. She had been cooking for about forty five minutes when she heard the kitchen door bang open. She turned around to find a young looking soldier standing there with two push carts in front of him.

"It's only 6:30 aren't you supposed to come get this at 7:00?" Cat was almost done cooking so it did not matter that he was early but she thought it odd that they had sent him when Walter assured her they never arrived a minute before 7:00.

"Well I…I mean they…" the soldier looked down at his feet and shuffled them a bit. Cat decided he had not been working here long and was probably being taken advantage of.

"They sent you to see what I was like huh?" Cat smiled at him reassuringly.

"Yeah, that's about right," he seemed to breath a little easier and took a few steps around the carts.

"Well I'm pretty average. I'm not into any of this weird stuff that Hellsing women deals with and I am especially not very fond of her little hellion pet," Cat gave a massive pile of scrambled eggs a few shoves with a spatula.

"Yeah, I don't think anyone actually likes him. Most of us are afraid he'll go rouge one day and slaughter us all. Sir Hellsing says that will never happen but we have our doubts. I think the Sergeant is the only one who isn't afraid of him. He says they treat each other with respect because they're playing the same game," the soldier stopped talking when he noticed Cat starring at him. She had not had a real conversation with someone in a long time and she was eating it up.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to stare. I just haven't talked to anyone normal since I've been here. Are you going to be picking the breakfast up every morning?" she began dishing the eggs into the huge serving dishes the soldier had brought.

"I sure am, lunch and dinner too. What's your name? The other guys just keep referring to you as kitty," he looked a bit embarrassed to tell Cat about a joke concerning her.

Cat laughed as she took the bacon out of the oven, "Well that's basically it. My name is Katherine but I go by Cat. I should probably get used to being called kitty, that's how I was always teased at school anyway."

"Oh I see, well maybe I can get them to lay off a bit. If your cooking's any good they'll worship you," he picked up the dishes she had filled and started loading them onto the carts.

Cat scooped up the last of the potato hash and carried the tray to the cart. "So I guess I'll see you when you bring the dishes back um...?"

"Oh sorry, I'm Lucian," he stuck out his hand a shook hers briefly.

"Alright Lucian I'll see you later. Enjoy your breakfast," Cat smiled at him and turned around to clean the pots and pans.

"Yeah...bye!" he tripped over the kitchen mat as he was walking out the door but cat pretended she didn't notice. Maybe being here would not be as bad as she had imagined. At least there was one nice person. Other than Walter of course.

After Cat finished washing the dishes she sat down to read her book. She figured it would be about an hour before the soldiers all finished breakfast and brought all the dishes back. She was glad there were two very large dish washers so she did not have to do everything by hand. She had gotten through about fifteen pages when she heard the kitchen doors swing opened. She looked up to see Lucian, and then she looked at the clock.

"Wow it's only been forty five minutes. You guys must have been hungry," she closed the book and got up to help him with the trays.

"Oh we're always hungry, but that was the most amazing breakfast we've had since we've been here. A lot of the guys wanted me to tell you it was as good as their moms," he blushed a little as he told her.

"Aw, that's the nicest thing I've heard. My Aunt never appreciated my cooking," Cat froze after she said it.

"What's the matter?" Lucian set down a pile of dishes and looked at her concerned.

"It's nothing, I just haven't thought about my Aunt since I've been here. She was killed by ghouls."

"That's awful, I'm really sorry. Is that why you decided to come stay here?" he tipped a pile of dishes in the sink and the clatter broke Cats trance.

"Of course not! They made me come here I didn't really have a choice," Cat opened the dish washer and started loading the bowls and plates.

"Do you want any help? I could stay awhile our training doesn't start until nine," Lucian took a step forward hopefully.

"No its ok it won't take me long and I have to go shopping a little later. Alucard destroyed all of my clothes," she spoke dreamily as she put the dishes in the washer one after the other.

"Oh…well ok I guess I'll see you tonight. Here they wanted me to give you this," he handed her a folded piece of paper.

"What is it?" Cat was always suspicious of things.

"Just open it," Lucian smiled to encourage her. He hoped she had a better sense of humor than Walter.

Cat unfolded the piece of paper and look at it. She laughed loudly then read the paper aloud, "We love you!! Wow with three exclamation points. I never knew I cooked so well."

"They wanted me to give you something else too. I told them it was stupid but they said if I didn't they would put me in the artillery closet," Lucian again shuffled his feet and stared at them.

"Well go ahead and tell me what it is, it can't be that bad," Cat did not like it when people acted nervous around her. It made her nervous even if there was no reason to be.

Lucian looked up at her a sighed. He shut his eyes and then to Cats great surprise leaned forward and gave her a hard kiss on the cheek. She stood for a moment and then smiled. Lucian turned around and quickly gathered the carts to leave. Cats smile continued to grow bigger and bigger.

"Please don't turn around and look at me please please!" she thought to herself.

Lucian having just kissed her felt it was necessary to turn around to make sure she did not appear angry. As soon as he did Cat burst out laughing. Lucian jumped at the sound of it then hurried out the door leaving one of the carts behind. Cat doubled over and laughed even harder at the expression on his face as he left. She felt terrible for laughing at him like that and hoped he did not take it personal, but she just could not help herself. To be kissed so abruptly by someone for cooking breakfast was absurd to her. Even more so that he was told by the soldiers to do it. She laughed even harder at the thought of poor Lucian telling the other men how she had reacted. A stitch grew in her side and she gasped breath trying to calm her self down. Boys were so odd sometimes.

After a few more minutes of stifled laughter Cat finished putting the dishes in the washer and she looked up at the clock. It was only 8:30 and she was not going shopping until noon. She thought she could wake Alucard now and go early, but she knew he would be very angry and she did not think being mean would help the situation. Perhaps if she only treated him like another person and not like a monster he would be easier to be around. She smiled as she thought how this idea would never work. He was far o self indulged to be treat normal. He liked being treated differently even when it meant he was being bothered or punished. He would choose that over being treated like everyone else. Cat could not blame him though. She was beginning to grow lonely and would not even mind the teasing girls and boys at her high school. Even though they were being cruel it was still the attention she craved. She wondered if this was how Alucard felt after being alive for so long. It must get lonely eventually and maybe even sad to watch everyone you know grow old and die. She supposed he would be numb to it by now anyway but there must still be a shred of human emotion left in him somewhere right?

Cat wrote a quick note for Walter telling him everything went very well and then picked her book up and left the kitchen. She decided she would go back to her room and read for a while and maybe fall asleep for an hour or two. She felt very unconstructive but supposed after living here for a while longer she would be able to find more creative things to do with her time. Being lazy for now was okay with her.

Once she made it back to her room she laid down to read and fell asleep by 9:30. At 11:30 she was rudely awoken by incredibly angry yelling. At first she was alarmed but then remembered that Sit Integra did most of her communicating in that deafening yell. She yawned, stretched, and then rolled out of the bed. She stood in front of her bedroom door for a while trying to decide whether or not she wanted to see what was going on. After another yawn and some eye rubbing she walked out into the hall and followed the sound of Integra's voice.

When she reached her office door she chose to stand beside it rather than go in. It was not as though she could not hear the entire conversation anyway. The Hellsing Mansion was so easy to eaves drop in, everyone was always yelling.

From what she could tell by standing by the door hinges Integra was yelling at one of the soldiers, perhaps even the Sergeant Lucian had spoke of. The conversation was very boring and consisted of the city Worcester, something about freaks, and someone named Anderson. Cat heard something about cleaning up and keeping things quiet or something of the sort. She was not very interested in the woes of being the leader of this organization and did not care to listen much further. She did however hear Integra complain about the man not being able to keep better tabs on Alucard. His response was that it was not his job to keep tabs on the creature and if that was what Integra wanted she should go on the missions herself. To this she yelled for him to get out of her site and she then called for Walter.

Cat was sitting against the wall next to the door when the mane came out. He looked rather annoyed and took a brief glance towards her. She smiled at him, but he only turned and walked away toward what was probably the soldier's barracks. After a few more moments Walter came walking around the corner carrying a tea tray. Cat stood up to greet him.

"Good morning Walter. How are you doing?" Cat gave him her best smile.

"Oh I'm doing as well as can be expected. Sir Integra is in a very bad mood, did you forget to bring her morning tea?" Walter stopped in front of the door.

"Morning tea? I though she only had it in the evening," Cat felt bad she had already messed something up.

"Oh no she takes it morning noon and night. We go through quite a lot of tea here. It's alright though I'm sure she won't hold it against you for too long," Walter winked at Cat and nodded for her to open the door.

When they entered the room Integra was standing at the window with one arm hooked in front of her while she rested her elbow on it and held her head in her hand. Cat thought that her stress was caused by one of two reasons. Either the job was really as hard as she acted like it was or she was just a whiner. Cat favored the third option of it being in between the other two.

"Finally. I thought perhaps you two had decided that tea was no longer suited to you," Integra picked up the tea pot and poured some herself. She drank deeply from the cup then poured some more.

"Quite sorry Sir Integra but Miss Cat was not aware you took your tea in the morning," Walter tidied some papers on Integra's desk and removed the tea tray.

"Well now you know don't you Katherine?" Integra looked at her sternly.

Cat was appalled at being treated like a child who had forgotten a question on the night's homework, "I suppose I do." She looked back at Integra just as stern. "_Sir _Integra, did Alucard had a rough night last night? I couldn't help but over hear your conversation with that man."

"I'm sure you couldn't," Integra raised her eyebrows. She sat down at her desk and took another sip of tea. Cat thought she was not going to answer her but she finally did.

"I would hardly say it was a rough night. He brought it all upon himself. The man you heard me speak of, Anderson, is a Catholic Priest in Ireland. We do have treaties to keep us all on our own side but sometimes temptation wins the battle. Alucard can not control himself and neither can Anderson when they are around each other. Each one is hell bent on killing the other. Anderson is a regenerator so killing him is not as easy as killing any human. Alucard takes great pleasure in fighting with him. Last night he became careless enough to allow Anderson enough time to cut off his head." Integra smiled slightly at the look on Katherine's face. It was a very subtle look, but one of worry none the less.

"Do not be alarmed it is a very minimal problem. Alucard can regenerate himself just as easily as Anderson, if not more. The problem is that he refuses to listen and causes scenes like this. Having a fight in the middle of Worcester! It's ridiculous. Anderson should have known better as well to come into our territory and mess in other peoples business. You may wake Alucard at noon. I suggest you bring him a couple extra blood packs. As you know he is very powerful but even the strongest of us get tired sometimes," Integra nodded at Cat for her to go.

"Thank you for telling me about it. Maybe it will give us something to talk about on our shopping trip," Cat smiled at them both and left the room.

"You would think she would be slightly more daunted about waking a vampire in the middle of the afternoon," Integra refilled her tea cup and took a sip.

"The way I see it Sir is that she has nothing to be afraid of. She has never known fear beyond the teasing of children her age. She is a strong person like her mother, she does not create irrational fears of the unknown before she has experienced them," Walter reached for the tea pot to take t with him.

"It's alright Walter you may leave it. Someone should teach her that in this house fear of the unknown is the one thing that may save your life."


	20. Oxford St

Story suggestions are welcome and appreciated  
thank you

**Oxford St.**

Cat went back down the hall and into her room. She grabbed the money Integra had given to her and pushed it securely into her front pocket. She looked at the clock and saw it was only 11:50. After hearing what Integra had said she felt a bit bad that Alucard would have to go shopping with her, but she did not have much of a choice. She could not keep wearing the same clothes each day. That was unsanitary.

Cat left the bedroom with a bit of reluctance and made her way to the kitchen. Once there she picked up two blood packs and considered them then she reached further back on the shelf and pulled out one of the coveted O positives. She hoped giving it to him would keep his mood a tad less cynical.

She pulled out the small piece of paper Walter had given her as she left the kitchen. On it he had drawn a petite map showing her how to get to Alucard's room.

"_Don't bother knocking on the door; it will just annoy him," _Walter had told her earlier.

She reached Alucard's door shortly and gave the knob a tug. The door let out a hideous screech and Cat cringed. She did not know why it mattered if a noise woke him up. In fact it might be all the better if he woke up before she had to go inside and give him a shake. She looked into the darkness and wished she had brought along her flashlight. The dark room reminded her of the shaking door she had encountered the day before. She relaxed after a moment as her eyes adjusted to the dark and the light from the hall spilled onto a set of stone stairs. She pushed the door all the way opened and hoped it would stay propped against the wall. Then with a deep breath she slowly took a step down the stairs. After the first step did not prove to be dangerous she took another and then another. After nineteen cold steps later she was at the bottom. It was considerably darker down here but she could still make out the walls of the room. They were spread wide apart and the back wall must have been at least sixty feet away. She cautiously stepped further into the center of the room. There stood a tall backed chair next to a small table. A crimson liquid stood in a long stemmed glass and Katherine crinkled her nose. She picked it up and sniffed lightly. The liquid was thankfully wine. She could not have imagined how disgusting a cup of old blood would be. Thick and jelly like with the smell of rancid death coming off it. She turned to her left and saw a long black box sitting about six feet from the chair. She walked up to it and on closer inspection found it to be a carefully constructed coffin. She reached out to touch the smooth black wood but stayed her hand inches from the surface and thought better of the action.

Cat looked at the glowing hands on her watch and saw it was 12:05. She struggled with the idea of waking him up now or waiting until 12:30 to give him some extra rest. She knew whatever she chose he would analyze. If she woke him up now would it show punctuality or would he take it as a cruel gesture? On the other hand if she let him sleep longer he might think she was simply scared to wake him and he would see her as weak, but also he may see it as a kind gesture and then decide her kindness was weak. She just could not win either way. She took a deep breath and held the blood packs in the nook of her arm.

"Alucard," she knew it would take only that to wake him. Perhaps he even already knew she was there.

The lid of the coffin slid to the side and hovered next to its other half. Cat tentatively peered over the side of the coffin. When nothing jumped out to scare her she moved closer and looked inside.

Alucard laid motionless inside. His hat, gloves, and coat were off and his glasses were pushed crookedly up on his forehead. One hand rested on his chest and the other was limp at his side. His head lolled slightly towards his shoulder and his chin propped itself on his chest. Cat realized his chest had not moved the entire time, but it did not matter she supposed since he was not alive anyway. His hair looked shorter than it had before and it draped delicately over the side of his face. His mouth was turned down at the sides giving him a sad lonely look. Cat thought perhaps this was the only time he let down his protective wall. He looked deeply asleep but she was sure he was not. He had opened the coffin after all. She thought it would be safe to joke around.

"You look just like an angel. Can't you stay like this more often," she watched as his eyes fluttered beneath their lids then slowly rolled opened. He looked at her lazily then closed them again and turned his head to the side. She fancied the peachy look his face held in the moments between conscious and unconsciousness. In those moments he looked more alive and less like a blood sucking monster.

He sat up lazily with his eyes still closed, "What are you doing in here."

"We're going shopping today remember? It's what you get for destroying my things. Here I brought you this," she tore the tube off one of the blood packs and handed it to him.

Alucard took the bag roughly from her hand without looking at her or thanking her. She supposed it was to be expected. She watched as he put the corner of it in his mouth and squeezed it. He gulped it down rapidly so she opened the next one and held it out.

He looked over at the second blood pack and stared at it. Walter usually only brought him one and would only bring another if Alucard asked. He never considered that some days he may be hungrier than others. He took this one gently from her and sucked on it thoughtfully.

Cat watched as he dreamily drank the blood. She wondered what he was thinking about and if it was pleasant or not. She wished she could see his thoughts the way he forcefully looked at every one else's.

She snapped back to reality when she realized Alucard was looking at her and she had been staring at him. She casually held out the third blood pack full of the O positive.

Alucard gave her a quizzical look, "What are you getting at?"

"What! I'm not getting at anything. I just thought you'd need this since we're going to be out for a while today. I heard you had a rough night," she reached the pack closer to him so he would take it.

"So Integra is telling just anyone our business now. It is none of your concern," he took the blood anyway and drank it more slowly than the others.

"I know it's none of my concern. I could care less if you get your head torn off by some catholic priest, but I don't feel like having you drag yourself around all day. It would be embarrassing in public. It's bad enough you wear that huge red hat and coat," Cat was pleased at the dirty look this comment got. She wondered if anyone had ever told him before how ridiculous and out dated they were. She was not even sure if they were dated at all. When had it ever been fashionable to wear something like that?

"This is the only thing I need to fashion," he reached into the coffin and pulled out his Jackal.

"I hope you aren't planning on bringing that with you," she rolled her eyes at him. He rested the gun on his shoulder and laid his cheek on the cold metal. He acted like it was a beloved friend rather than simply a gun.

"Of course I am. You never know when I may need it."

"Why would you need it! We're going shopping in the middle of the day. You're going to be the only undead one out there," she gave him a desperate look. It was all she needed to be stopped leaving a store after he set the alarm off with that silly thing.

"What if someone tries to rob you? You can see that wad of money from a mile away," Alucard gestured to her bulging pocket.

Cat just sighed, "I'll wait for you by the front door."

As she left the room Alucard smiled. She had been here for barely two days and she was already fitting in with the likes of everyone else. She showed no fear on her face or in her emotions, only curiosity and the more usual annoyance that always entered people's thoughts when he was around. He hoped she would be willing to train to become one of the more elite soldiers. If she was a good shot he would not mind having her come along on missions. It would make things more interesting.

Cat sat by the front door waiting for Alucard. She cupped her head in her hands and closed her eyes. She was getting bored and he was taking his sweet time. It was not as though he needed to get ready like girls did. He was already wearing clothes and he probably had shoes on in that coffin too.

Finally after five minutes that lasted for hours she heard the big clumping footsteps that always accompanied him. She looked up and was a little surprised.

Alucard had swapped his red coat for a simpler black one and he had left behind his hat. His glasses were a shade of black instead of the offensive red and he had lost the odd gloves all together. He had kept his massive work boots but had shortened his hair considerably. It now stuck out to one side in the front and then faded to a neat two inches in the back.

"Well don't you look just as pretty as a picture," Cat stood up and smiled. She just could not help herself.

"Come on, before I change my mind," he opened the front door and gestured her out. He led her out to the car and politely opened the door.

"Well thank you sir," Cat simply beamed. She also noticed Integra watching from a third floor window.

Once they were in the car the driver started off for the street. Cat had assumed he knew where they were going until he stopped at the end of the drive and twisted around in his seat.

"Where to Miss?" he stared at her expectantly.

"Oh…well I don't know I've never really gone shopping before and I don't know my way around," she felt embarrassed and noticed the frustration on Alucard's face.

"Well that's alright Miss if you just tell me what you need I can give you some suggestions," the driver smiled reassuringly.

"I need an entirely new wardrobe," Cat laughed. It was a rare thing to need to go out and buy a complete wardrobe all at once.

"A new wardrobe you say? Well then the place you ought to go is Oxford St. They've got lots of shops and department stores. You'll find everything you need right there," the driver looked at her to be sure she liked the choice.

"Then off we go to Oxford St," she turned and looked at Alucard, "Are you excited?"

He slumped down in his seat as the car turned out onto the street, "I would hardly call it that."


	21. Nosferatu

_I had Alucard speak to this lady in Romanian but when you put something into a translator to see what it says in English it translates it word for word instead of word order. So after many different wordings I found a sentence that would translate back to English almost the same. I used freeonlinetranslators. I guess just google it because it wont let me add the link.  
_

_I looked at some others but they didn't really work very well.  
_

**Nosferatu**

Cat sat back against the soft leather of the cars seat and gazed out the window. It was a beautiful sunny day and the trees were just beginning to bud. The sun lit up their tiny green leaves causing everything outside to carry a green haze. She wished she had a camera to capture the amazing spring day.

As they turned the next corner the sun burst through the opened window and shone on her face. It was wonderfully warm and Cat enjoyed it after being so cold during the long winter. She missed the long and hot summer days and was glad the dreary winter ones were over. She had enjoyed the snow for the first couple weeks but with no friends to go out with it quickly lost its charm. She had longed for the dewy spring mornings and the way the sun would come up early and evaporate the prefect little dew drops leaving a dreamy mist in the air. She glanced over as she heard the shuffling of thick fabric.

Alucard had pulled his knees closer to his body and had plunged his hands into his pockets. He turned his back to the window and shut his eyes. Cat felt sorry for him though she knew she shouldn't. He must hate the sunny spring days as much as she hated the cold winter ones. She rolled up the window and the sun was blocked out by its dark tinting. She waited for a thank you but none came. Alucard only relaxed his muscles and remained turned away from her. It was going to be a long day.

After a very silent twenty minute drive they came to a very busy street lined with hundreds of shops. People bustled around the sidewalks and in the road shoulder to shoulder trying to make their merry ways to the different clothing stores and restaurants.

"Do you mind if I drop you off here Miss? It'll be hell trying to find a spot to park," the driver looked at Cat in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah that's fine. How will I find you when we're ready to leave?" Alucard looked up at the word _we._

"Just have your escort there give me a call and we'll ronde vu at this spot here," the driver smiled.

Cat looked around to find a landmark she could remember easily. She spotted a McDonalds next to a toy shop and committed them to memory. "Alright, I'll see you again in a few hours." Cat hoped out of the car and held the door opened for Alucard. He sat in the seat for a moment with his hands still in his pockets and his head hanging low.

The drive turned around and looked at him, "You take good care of that one. We don't want to go losing her to something worse than yur self."

Alucard looked up at the driver.

Cat poked her head back into the car, "Come on, it'll be okay once we're walking around." She wasn't surprised at how difficult he was being, but it was verging on simply being babyish.

He feigned a deep sigh and then slid to the edge of the seat and slowly stood up in the daylight. He repositioned his glasses so they fit snug over his eyes and he remorsefully closed the car door.

"Come on. Let's get this over with," he started off down the sidewalk in long strides. Cat followed behind him quickly. He was so tall and daunting that anyone in his path quickly moved aside to let him through. Cat was contently following in his shadow when he abruptly stopped. For the second time in two days she plowed right into him.

"What are you doing?" she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Are you going to just follow me or are you going to go shopping?" he turned around and looked down at her.

"I am shopping! I thought you were taking me somewhere specific," she looked at him and pouted. How was she supposed to know where to shop? Hadn't she said earlier that she'd never really gone before?

Alucard looked into the shop they had stopped in front of, "This one is called Debenhams why don't you go in there. They have plenty of clothes." He turned around to sit on a bench outside.

"You have to go in with me. I hate shopping, what if someone weird is in there," she laughed to herself at this statement. How could there possibly be anyone inside that store weirder than her morose escort.

"I was told to take you shopping, not follow at your ankles like a dog," Alucard plopped himself down on the bench disregarding the elderly women next to him. She looked over to see who had so rudely jostled her bench and her eyes widened in fear.

"Nosferatu…nosferatu!" the old women began to quiver and she religiously crossed herself and clasped onto the small cross around her neck. Alucard looked down at her and smiled.

"What?" Cat was confused. She wasn't sure what nosferatu meant but she had an idea. If her assumption was right how had the old women known? Other people on the street looked afraid of Alucard but no more than one would be afraid of any other very large man clad in all black.

"Have nu fear vechi femei. This zi I unic a veni pentru art.hot. tîrguieli," he nodded towards Cat and the old women looked over at her. She seemed to relax a bit but still held her fear in her eyes. She looked back at Alucard and nodded her head. She started to get up to leave but Alucard stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him alarmed but he smiled reassuringly and she sat back down on the bench.

"I think it would be best if I went inside with you," he opened the shop door for Cat and ushered her in.

Cat turned and looked at the women as she was walking inside. The women stared at her with a look of both fear and concern. Behind these emotions though, Cat could see another, a look of comfort. The women smiled at her and crossed herself once again. Cat smiled back then turned around to go into the shop.

"What on earth was that about," Cat asked as soon as they were further in the store. "Why did she call you nosferatu? Is that monster in some other language or something?"

Alucard laughed at her, "It roughly means 'the dead who walk' or simply vampire."

"So how did she know? Have you ever seen her before?"

"No, I have not," Alucard scanned the area for a chair to wait in.

"What did you say to her?" shopping had left Cats mind.

"I told her she was crazy," Alucard walked off towards an area with chairs. Other men were sitting there waiting for their wives or girlfriends. A few cringed when he walked up but for the most part they held their ground. After all, shopping was the one thing all men had in common, whether they were alive or not.

"You did not!" Cat called after him. He didn't respond so she went off through the store to search for clothes. She always hated trying things on but she did not want to waste the precious money Integra had given her by buying numerous pairs of the same thing. She found a sales clerk and told her she would need to buy an entire wardrobe and asked if the women could help her. She obliged kindly and they went off together through the store picking out anything that struck Cats fancy. After a little over an hour she had picked out as many clothes as she could find and had gotten a new supply of bras and underwear. Before she had gone off to look for these she made sure Alucard was still securely in his waiting chair. She paid for all her things and went back to the chairs to collect him but found him fast asleep.

The sales women came up to her and giggled quietly at the site of him, "That happens so often here. I keep telling the manager we should put it some card tables and games so they can occupy themselves better."

"Would it be alright if I left him here while I go get something to eat?" cat hoped the women would not suggest that Alucard may be hungry as well. It would be hard to explain why he did not eat.

"Oh sure, girls do that all the time. You can leave your bags with him too I'll keep an eye on them. Though I don't think anyone would try and steal them. He even looks dangerous while he's asleep."

"Thanks," Cat set her bags quietly next to Alucard, "I'll be back soon I'm just going to run to the McDonalds."

Cat walked out of the store and made her way towards the McDonalds. It was considerably harder to get through the crowds of people without Alucard in front of her but she finally made it there. A group of boys that looked about her age were standing outside the restaurant sipping drinks and pushing each other around. Cat heard them whispering things as she approached but she was well used to this so ignored them and went inside. She ordered some food and sat down for a bit and ate quietly thinking of what she wanted to buy next. She thought she should buy some more jeans since they were her favorite thing to wear. She wondered if she should buy anything more formal just in case. She was not sure what she would need it for but her aunt hah always told her it was better to be safe than sorry. She wondered what Alucard would say if she asked him look at her in different dresses and give his opinion. She assumed all the opinions would be that he did not care and it did not matter. She found herself wishing he was sweeter and quickly drove this thought from her head.

After she finished her lunch she walked outside and headed back down towards Debenhams. She was on the opposite side of the street now and decided to peek inside the toy store window as she passed. As soon as she looked away from where she was going and into the toy store she walked right into someone.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention," se looked to see who she had hit and it was one of the boys who had been outside McDonalds. He leered at her as did his friends who stood behind him.

"Well well well, don't you know its dangerous shopping alone? Someone could swipe you right off the street," the boy put his hands on his hips and mocked concern.

"I'm not alone my friend is waiting for me in Debenhams," she tried to skirt around the boy but he blocked her path.

"Your friend aye? You know what I think? I think you're just saying that so we'll leave you alone. That won't work on us we can see right threw girls like you," the boy grabbed onto Cats arm and squeezed it hard.

"Let go or I'll scream," she looked at him calmly and hoped he would be afraid of getting caught and let go.

One of he boys behind him stepped up to her. His hand was in his pocket and he pressed the pocket against her other arm. She could feel the cold metal of something sharp on the other side of the fabric.

"Scream and I'll cut you through," the boy smiled pleasantly.

Cat did not know what to do. She could scream anyway and hope someone would notice before the boy had a chance to stab her, but what if they just stabbed her and ran for the fun of it. She would lie bleeding in the middle of the sidewalk and no one would ever know why. She decided not to struggle as the boy pulled her along with him, following his friends. After about ten feet they turn down a little alley. It was dark even though it was the middle of the day and the walls were lined with huge trash bins and garbage.

Cat knew if she followed them much farther she would be lost forever so she thought fast. She could see the light from the street on the other side and thought if she could just make it down there she could yell for help. It probably would not hurt to scream as she ran either. She just needed an opportunity to get away.

"Uh oh!" she looked over one of the boys heads and hoped she sounded believable.

"What do you mean 'Uh oh'?" all three boys turned their heads and looked in the direction Cat had looked.

She took her chance and kneed the boy holding her hard in the stomach. He let go and wailed in pain holding his sides. Cat dashed down the alley. As she ran she realized she should have taken the opposite direction. It was true this meant running right past the boys but they had been in such great shock they would not have had time to grab her. Now they were chasing her and she quickly learned that boys were much faster than girls. She had barley gotten half way down the alley when she felt a sharp pain in her neck and she was pulled down backwards by her hair.

"You little twit! You think you can get away that easily? Don't you think they've tried that before?" the boy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and waited for his friends to catch up to him. The boy she had kneed walked up still rubbing his stomach and without warning gave her a swift kick in the side.

Cat grunted and clutched her stomach but she refused to cry. The boy had said 'they' which Cat assumed could only mean the other girls these boys had terrorized. Boys like this picked on people smaller and more vulnerable than them. They did it to get a rise out of whatever creature they were harassing. They wanted her to cry and call for help, but she was not going to.

"You made a big mistake girly," the third boy said. "We was gonna go easy on ya since you're so cute and all, but now I don't think we will."

The boy who had chased her down laughed at him friends snide remark then got down on the ground and sat on Cats stomach. He started unbuttoning her shirt and pants while his friends watched and laughed.

"Get the hell off of me!" Cat swung a fist at his face but he leaned back and easily avoided it. She started throwing punches left and right and tried clawing at the boy's face and clothes.

"Hold her down will you Shawn?" the boy she had kicked walked around to her head and took hold of her arms. He pressed them onto the ground then rested his knees on her wrists. The blood was painfully cut off from her hands and she could not move at all. She writhed and kicked her feet under the boy as he again started working at her buttons. She screamed over and over again for him to get off praying all the while that someone would hear her and come to investigate.

Then a thought entered her mind. A simple thought full of hope a glory. She could almost see it floating in front of her eyes calling out for her to be calm and smart. A single word that would now get her out of any situation she would ever be confronted with.

_Nosferatu._

She closed her eyes and stopped screaming. She took a deep calming breath and relaxed.

"Finally giving in aye?" the boy stopped fiddling with her shirt for a moment and looked at her.

"She hasn't passé out has she Jimmy?" the boy holding her arms down looked a bit worried.

"Aw who cares if she has? It's not like it matters anyway," he reached down and ran his thumb along her jaw line.

Cat concentrated hard on Alucard's face. Then she called him.

Less than a second later the boy named Shawn let out a terrified scream. He jumped off the ground and dashed down the alley towards the other street.

"Where in the hell are you going!" Cat opened her eyes in time to see the other boy being dangled by his neck in Alucard's grasp. He merely tapped his head against the wall and the boy was out cold.

Jimmy turned around to see Alucard's hand reaching out for him. He yelled and tried to get away but he was too slow. Alucard grabbed him around the neck and lifted him to eye level. He laughed sadistically and licked his lips. Cat quickly stood up and began re-buttoning her pants and shirt. She looked by Alucard's feet and saw her shopping bags sitting neatly side by side. Despite the horrible situation she had just come out of she could not help by crack a smile.

She looked back up at the boy who was now gasping for breath through a stream of tears. Alucard held him still hire and his eye glowed a dangerous red. He began to open his mouth wide and Cat could see each glistening tooth. Unlike in the story books all of Alucard's teeth came to a razor sharp point. She watched in horror as the two main canines grew thrice the length of all the rest.

Alucard began to growl in anticipation as he brought the boy slowly closer and closer to his mouth. His tongue danced out between his jaws and licked at the boy's neck and face. The boy tried to cry out but Alucard gripped his neck tighter.

Cat was frozen where she stood. She did not know if she was afraid for the boy or simply captivated by what she was seeing. Should she yell for Alucard to stop? This boy had just humiliated her and if he got away he would probably do it to some other poor girl who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Something inside of her awakened and she longed to see the crimson blood burst from this horrible boys neck. She twisted the hem of her shirt in her hands and locked her eyes on the terrifying scene. A small voice within her told her what the right thing to do was. But this voice was very small, and so it went unheard.

Alucard slid his hand away from the boy's throat and held him by the back of his head. He opened his mouth to its widest and lunged.

* * *

WHOA! What happens next?!

This was my longest chapter yet.

Hope you enjoyed it.


	22. Changing Emotions

wrong choice/right choice

please enjoy

**Changing Emotions**

Katherine gasped as Alucard's teeth bore deep into the boy's neck. His crying was immediately choked off and all that could be heard was the slurping of blood and the distant sound of shoppers. Cat bit her lip as she watched him take in mouth full's of the blood and gulp it down hungrily. He drew it in deeply as if vigorously sucking poison from a wound. Blood dribbled down his chin and the boy's chest and dripped onto the street below. He kept his eyes tightly shut as he relished the hot coppery taste.

Cat was not sure what to do. What was she supposed to say to him after this? Should she act like nothing happened or should she regard it has something normal and just except it for what it was.

She stifled her flow of thoughts as she watched Alucard drop the boy to the ground. He laid there in a crumpled bloody pile. She wondered if he lived with his parents. How long would it take them to miss him?

Alucard was momentarily blood crazed. The boy had been an especially delicious treat after just waking up in an over crowded department store. His eyes shot away from the boy and locked onto those of his charge.

Cat was taken by surprise. The look in his eyes was terrifying, like nothing she had ever seen before. Against her better judgment she dodged around him and ran back the way she had come. She feared he would come after her and the fate of the boy would befall her as well.

Alucard stood slightly perplexed. The girl had stood and watched him feed without showing much remorse for the boy, but now she ran away in fear for her life. He did not understand emotions that changed so frequently.

Cat had run about thirty feet when she slowed herself and came to a stop. All fear left her and she almost forgot why she had run away in the first place. She knew Alucard was not going to eat her. Had he not just come to her aid after she mentally called him and gotten revenge on the boys that had attacked her. She felt an odd tingling in her face and hands. She supposed it was embarrassment rising to the service. She had just run away terrified of the man that had now saved her twice. It was incredibly rude.

She turned around in time to see him crush the boys head under his boot.

"What did you do that for!" she was relieved to have finally found her voice again.

"So he would not turn into a ghoul," he watched as the boy turned into a pile of dust and began blowing away.

Cat started walking back towards him. She was not sure if she should say thank you or sorry for causing so much trouble. She stopped in front of him and twiddled her thumbs.

"This is the second time you've gotten yourself into trouble. The first was understandable but this time…you were on a crowded street and still managed to be dragged into an alley," Cat thought Alucard almost looked disappointed.

"Well I ran most of the way down the alley! It's not like I just let them carry me here they had a knife! And there were three of them! Plus, didn't you just get your head torn off by some lil' ol' priest last night? I thought you were supposed to be unbeatable," Cat crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.

"I'm still here aren't I? And Alexander Anderson is far from little or old," Alucard picked up Cats shopping bags and started back down the alley.

"Well I'm still here too," she jogged after him, "Thank you though…for coming so quickly," Alucard looked down at her and she quickly looked at her shoes.

"I'll have Integra send you down to the soldier's barracks and the shooting range. You can train with Pip, and then you won't need me to come quickly," he stepped out onto the street and then stopped to wait for her response. Would she protest at being sent to train with soldiers or would she welcome the idea of being able to defend herself.

"Okay," was all she said.

"Do you need to buy anything else or may we go?" Alucard had been tired of shopping as soon as they had stepped out of the car.

"Of course I need to buy more things! You can't just go to one store for your entire wardrobe. I saw a hat shop down that way, do you want a hat?" she laughed at the funny look on his face.

"I have a hat," he started walking down the sidewalk and Cat once again followed. She swiveled her head around looking at the different shops and trying to decide which one she wanted to go in. She finally settled on a second hand shop full of interesting looking clothes. She did not complain when Alucard sat down on a bench in the shade. She rummaged around in the shop for a while and managed to find a comfortable pair of camo cargo pants, a pair of light weight girls' army boots, and a tailored vest full of pockets to hide things in.

She left the store and Alucard mechanically took her bag and started walking down the street again. The routine continued for three more stores and then Cat became tired and sat down on a bench with him. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Shopping was beginning to tire her out. No sooner had the thought crossed her mind she heard Alucard grunt.

"I'm sorry. Do you want to go home?" she knew the answer before she asked.

"Very much," Alucard rested his head on the tree behind the bench.

"Okay, but you have to do me one last favor," she smiled devilishly.

"What is it," he let his head flop loosely onto his should and opened one eye wide. Cat thought it made him look disgustingly dead.

"I want to pick out a dress and I want you to help me," she put on a very serious face.

"What makes you think I can pick out girls clothing," he rolled his eye back into his head so only the white showed.

"What makes you think I care," Cat grinned and headed in the direction of a quaint looking dress shop.


	23. The White Dress

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the dream was really fun to write

**The White Dress**

Alucard trailed behind Cat as she shuffled through the clothing racks.

"What color do you think I should get?

"I don't know."

"What style do you think I should get?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think I should get a short one or a longer one?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Alucard sat down in a chair in front of the dressing rooms. A girl came out to look at herself in the mirror and quickly ran back in upon seeing him.

"Please. The sooner you help me the sooner we can go," Cat started pulling dresses off the rack to try on. She held them up for Alucard to look at but he just put his head in his hand and began rubbing his temples. She went into the dressing room and tried the first dress on. It was a black one with little red lace flowered eyelets sewn around the bottom and thick shoulder straps.

Cat stepped out of the dressing room and twirled, "What do you think?"

Alucard glanced up from snoozing, "Are you planning to attend that boy's funeral?"

Cat's eyes widened in shock and she whisked herself back to the other side of the curtain. She ripped the black dress off quickly and threw it on the floor. She had hoped he would not ever mention what had happened but things usually did not go her way. She sat down on a stool and sighed. She had watched a boy be killed. She had not done anything to stop it either. She had not even wanted to do anything to stop it. She had wanted to see him be killed, it was what she had in mind the second she called for Alucard. What kind of person was she becoming? All because she had gone looking for her aunt, if she had just gone to bed none of it would have ever happened. She rubbed at her eyes to keep the tears from forming. She heard the jingle of the curtain rings and looked up.

"What are you doing?!" Cat brought her knees up to cover her chest and wrapped her arms around her thighs.

"You were taking too long," Alucard just stood and looked at her like it was perfectly normal to walk into a girl's dressing room.

"Well get out! I'll be out in a second!" she threw a hanger at him and he rolled his eyes and went back to sit down.

"This had been the worst day since this mess started," she thought to herself, "and its barley even been three."

She tried on two blue dresses and Alucard informed her she was too pale. She then tried on a red one and he told her she should get it if she wanted to be dragged down more alleys. She tried on a pale pink one and he reminded her she was not seven.

"Well what would you pick then? Just go find something so we can get out of here," Cat sat down in Alucard's chair as he got up to search the shop for something suitable. She did not get her hopes up that he would come back with anything remotely good. After five minutes he came back carrying a white dress.

"Here," he tossed it at her and sat down.

Cat went back into the dressing room and slipped the dress on. Unlike the others this one had a zipper on the back instead of the side. She struggled for about two minutes and finally managed to twist her arms behind her and get the zipper up. She stepped outside and looked in the mirror.

The dress looked beautiful. It was very simple but still lovelier than any she had tried on. It came just to her knees and delicate black lace was sewn around the bottom. It had an empires waste and around it was tied a black silk ribbon with a bow right in the middle. The straps were about an inch thick and fit snuggly over her shoulders and the neckline was a V pattern but not so much that she lost her modesty. All together the dress fit her personality perfectly.

"It's perfect," she stood staring at herself.

"Good," Alucard plucked the tag off the dress and handed to a passing sales clerk, "She'll take it." He went into the dressed room and stuffed her clothes into one of the shopping bags and handed her the money, "Don't bother changing just wear it out."

"Alright alright we can go. I'm sorry it took so long, but you know it would have gone a lot faster if you had just picked one out in the first place."

"I've called the driver he'll be arriving shortly. I'll wait outside," Alucard left the shop quickly and Cat watched as he paced outside. She went up to the counter to pay.

"Is that you're dad? He has good taste," the sales women took Cat's money and put it in the register.

"Oh no, he isn't my dad," she took her receipt as she started at Alucard outside.

"Oh, you're brother? He can't be your boyfriend! Is he?" the sales women grinned widely.

Cat laughed, "No he isn't my boyfriend. I guess he really isn't anything." She smiled at the sales women and left the shop.

As soon as she was outside Alucard immediately started striding back down the sidewalk towards the place the stressful afternoon had started. Cat had to practically jog to keep up with him but she did not mind. She was as ready to go home as he was. The day had been long and tiring and she just wanted to lie down and take a nap. After a couple of minutes Cat caught site of the car. The driver saw them coming and opened the trunk so Alucard could put in Cat's new clothes. Cat crawled into the back seat and wait for Alucard to finish stuffing her things into the trunk.

The driver turned around in his seat, "Find everything you needed Miss?"

"I certainly did. And then some," Cat giggled as the driver gave her a big toothy grin.

Alucard got into the car and slammed the door, "Drive."

The driver pulled away from Oxford St. and got on the main road that led back to Hellsing headquarters. It was now 5 o'clock and he sun was beginning to cast longer shadows. Cat wondered if Alucard would bother going to sleep. Maybe there would be no missions and he could relax for a night. The car swayed gently back and forth as it when over the rocky road and soon Cat had dozed off.

Thirty minutes later the car arrived in the Hellsing drive way.

"Maybe you should just carry her to the house Sir, she does look very peaceful," the driver looked at a sleeping Cat and wondered if the vampire would oblige.

"I'm not her mother," Alucard gave Cat a rude shove, "Wake up girl, we're back."

Cat flinched and bumped her head on the car window. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and peered around confused about where she was for a moment.

"Oh, back here. I see," she thanked the driver and sluggishly got out of the car. She went around to the trunk where Alucard was loading bags onto his arms and grabbed a few. She turned back towards the house without saying anything and walked solemnly up the steps to the door.

Just as she got to the door Walter opened it and welcomed her in.

"Did you have a good trip Miss Cat?" He stood holding the door waiting for Alucard.

"Yes, I got everything I needed," she stood for a moment and looked at the floor.

"Alucard wasn't any trouble was he?" Walter slyly looked at Alucard as he entered the house.

"No, he was fine. Do you mind if I don't cook tonight Walter?" she still stared at the floor.

"No that's quite fine I've already started dinner anyway. Is there something wrong Katherine you look a bit ill," Walter looked at Alucard questioningly.

"No I'm fine. I'm just tired. I'm going to go to bed. Goodnight," she turned around and walked zombie like up the stairs.

"Well that's odd. She's always so peppy. Did anything happen today that we should know about?" Walter closed the front door and looked at Alucard.

"No Walter. Nothing you should know about. I'm going to report in and go to bed as well. You'll take care of these wont you old boy?" Alucard set the shopping bags down at the front door.

"Yes just leave them there. You're sure nothing happened?" Walter was concerned.

"Nothing spectacular. Just the average Sunday outing," Alucard started off towards Integra's office.

"I'm afraid nothing involving you is average, Alucard," Walter said to himself as he headed back towards the kitchen.

Alucard knocked on Integra's office door and then entered. She was sitting at her desk like usual and shuffling through papers.

"Everything went smoothly I hope?" she looked up and him.

"As smooth as can be expected," he smiled at her a nodded.

"I know that look. What did you do?" she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Nothing, you can ask the girl yourself. I was polite and followed her wherever she wanted to go. There were the thirty minutes she left me sleeping in a chair in a department store though. Who knows what happened to her while she was alone," Alucard picked at a piece of lint on his sleeve.

"I got a strange report about two boys claiming to be attacked this afternoon by a monstrous man, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" Integra pulled a cigar out of her desk drawer and lit it. She pulled the smoke into her lungs and exhaled.

"Now that you mention it I may have seen a boy running from the scene of a crime and another out cold. I couldn't tell you what happened to the third one though. It seems to have slipped my mind," Alucard brushed his sleeve off and stood up straight.

Integra looked at him for a moment, "You are dismissed for now. No problems tonight just go get some sleep. I can't handle any more moodiness," she snuffed out her cigar and continued on with her paper work.

Alucard left the office and walked thoughtfully down the hall. He wondered if Integra would ask Cat about the shopping trip but decided that it was more than likely she would not. Integra was never interested in those kinds of things and she had no real need to know about what had happened to the boys. She had never minded if Alucard went out and drained a less than perfect citizen or two. As long as things did not get out of control and no ghouls were created.

As Alucard thoughtfully walked he found himself passing by Katherine's bedroom. The light was still on so he put is head through the door to see what she was up to.

Cat had fallen asleep on the bed with her clothes and the light both on. While she was in the car she had dreamt that her parents were still alive and she was living at home with them. The dream had seemed so real and she never wanted to wake up from it. She had not even known she was asleep though and so when things turned bad she was quite frightened.

In her dream her and her parents had been taking an afternoon stroll. It had been a lovely warm day but without warning the clouds started to roll in and the sky turned dark. She gripped her mothers hand but it felt thin and wispy like it was going to fly away. She looked at her mother and father and they were turning thin and wispy as well. She yelled for them to stay but they turned and ran away from her. As she chased after them she saw boys come out of the bushes and chase after her. She cried and cried for her mother and father to wait for her but they just kept running and laughing with each other like nothing was going on. Cat turned to see how close the boys were to her and when she turned back her parents had gained a great lead. She tried to run faster but she felt like the earth was clawing at her shoes. Eventually she could not see her parents any more and it was only her and the boys left. She tried to flee from them but they soon caught up and tried to drag her into the never ending bushes. Rain started to fall and she heard lightening and thunder crack and rumble. She cried for help but the only sound that came out was that of the wind. The boys laughed and jeered at her as she lay in a muddy puddle on the ground. Then she heard one of them scream. She looked up to see a giant shadow looming over her and the boys. The shadow had teeth and it locked them around the back of the boy's neck and shook him like a rag doll. Part of the shadow reached out like a fat tree branch and split at the end. It grew teeth on both sides and narrow red eyes popped out all over it. It snatched up the second boy a chomped half his body down. The other half fell with a sickening splat onto the ground. The third boy tried to run but another tree branch toothed shadow shot out from the back of the thing and wrapped around him. It repeatedly smashed him into the ground until he was only a bloody mangled piece of meat then it fed him to the eyed shadow. The first boy had stopped screaming now and the shadow quickly engulfed him. It started to laugh, a laugh so very familiar but Cat could not place where she had heard it before. She cried out to be left alone but the monster had only laughed more. The shadow monster slowly began to take a solid shape. Cat watched in terror as the tree branch monsters became arms and the toothed blob at the top became a man's head and face. Cat cringed as he smiled at her. She yelled over the thunder and lightening and asked for the man's name. She saw his lips move but she could not understand what he was saying. He reached his hand out to her and she reached to take it. She felt a moment of comfort. The monster had saved her and now he would take her away from this awful place and take care of her. As she took his hand she saw her parents behind him. They seemed to be running towards her with their arms out stretched but they were not getting any closer. They yelled for her to run away, to run to them so she would be safe. The man lifted her up high and she could better see the fear on her parent's faces. They called out to stay away from him but the last word was always blocked out by the thunder. She told them she could not understand them and she could not hear over the thunder. Suddenly there was complete silence as the man held her high in the air. She heard her mother yell louder than the thunder had ever been. Her words echoed through Katherine's head and they seemed to boom out of her mouth to the entire world. Stay away from Alucard. This is what they said, and as she heard them Katherine looked down into her saviors eyes. They were no longer eyes though, only black holes full of fire. A pit of darkness lined with teeth opened up in the man's face and Katherine was plunged towards it. Her scream filled the world and a crack formed in the ground her parents stood on. They fell into it and flames burst forth from the crack. As Katherine screamed the man laughed very hard and very loud and soon her voice was drowned out by his lustful joy.

Then just before she was plunged into darkness the same voice woke her up. She was sitting in a car outside a beautiful house and for a moment she had no idea how she had gotten there. She looked around and hid her terror as she saw the same man that had been in her dream. The man that had saved her but had also started to kill her. Here he was, saving her again, this time from himself.

She had been very shaken as the memories of the past few days slowly crept back into her head. She did not know what to make of her dream and so decided to make nothing of it. She would ignore it and pretend it had not happened. It was only a dream after all. It probably meant nothing. She had lain in her bed for a while thinking about Alucard's name.

"Alucard," she had spoken it out loud and again a faded memory flashed through her mind, but it was thin and wispy and she could not hold onto it. A thin and wispy memory, the very thing her parents were now becoming.

She had fallen asleep shortly after this and now Alucard stood looking at her there. He pulled her thoughts out of her head and surveyed the dream she had had. He did not find it strange to find nightmares about himself in someone's mind. It had been a very usual topic in the mind of Integra Hellsing when she was much younger, but soon these dream passed as they never became a reality. Katherine's dream was much more vivid and accurate than any he had seen before and she seemed much more shaken up then most people would after a simple nightmare. In the morning he was sure it would be as if nothing had ever happened. He reached to the side of the wall and flicked the bedroom light out and closed the door.

He continued his walk down the hallway and when he reached the end he let himself drop down the three floors into his room. Walter had left a blood pack in an ice bucket and though he was already gorged with blood like a fat mosquito he drank it up quickly and crawled into his coffin. He laid there thinking about the day for a while and then slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

He rarely dreamt about anything but this night he dreamt of an ocean of blood. The crimson waves lapped at the shore and the moon hung low in the sky with a hue to match the water. He surveyed the empty shore. A long ways down the beach a small dot came into view. He waited as the dot came closer and closer.

A girl in a white dress walked the shores alone.

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	24. A Lesson with Pip

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**A Lesson with Pip**

Cat woke up the next morning feeling more tired than she had before. She tried to remember the dream she had had but it slipped away from her. She tried to keep from getting into a bad mood but she could not help it. Whatever she had dreamt about was very unsettling and she could not drive it from her mind. She decided to just go with the flow and be a grouch all day. She got dressed and headed downstairs to make breakfast.

When she was almost done cooking Lucian entered the kitchen with the food carts.

"Good morning," he said cheerily.

Cat just grunted at him and started filling the trays.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked as he picked up some eggs.

"I just had a stressful day yesterday and I slept badly," she tried to sound nicer but she was in too bad of a mood.

"Well I was told to give you this," he handed her a piece of paper.

Cat laughed a little, "Is it another thank you for cooking?"

"Nah not this time I think it's important or something," Lucian looked happier now that Cat was smiling.

Cat read the letter. It was from the man Pip Alucard had spoken of. He wanted her to come down to the armory as soon as her kitchen duties were done.

"Thanks, tell him I'll be there in a bit," she started washing the dishes.

"Alright. Mind if I ask what he wants you for?" Lucian finished loading the cart and got ready to leave.

"I'm supposed to try my hand at shooting guns I guess. Alucard said Pip could teach me so I could defend myself. So I won't need to be protected," she started scrubbing dishes as a clip from her dream came back to her. Boys running after her and no where to hide.

"Ah I see. Well I'll see you down there then," he wheeled the carts away and disappeared down the hall.

Cat continued scrubbing the dishes. She thought about what had happened yesterday. She tried remembering her dream but it was hard to recall something you truly did not want to. She felt apprehensive about shooting guns. She had a couple times before when her Aunt had dated the cop but it was different then. She had been doing it for fun and not practicing so she could save herself if she needed to. She thought back hard to the shooting range he had taken her to. It had been five years ago. She tried to remember if she had done well but too much had happened since then. She could only pray that she had.

She finished the dishes and started towards the armory. It was a long walk through the mansion and across the grounds but eventually she made it. After she got there she realized she had not really dressed for the occasion. She was wearing a pair of black boot cut jeans and a deep red low cut shirt with a black undershirt. It was a nice outfit to go about the day in but not to stand in an armory full of soldiers shooting guns. She decided it was too late to turn back now and stepped into the armory. After she was inside she realized she had no idea what Pip looked like. She looked up and down the aisle of soldiers but all had earphones on to block out the sound of the guns. She finally decided to walk up to the one nearest the door and tap on his shoulder. As soon as she did he jumped and nearly dropped the gun.

"What are you doing! I could have shot you!" the soldier stared at her in bewilderment.

"Well that's kind of pathetic don't you think? I mean you're in a secure area…why would someone tapping on your shoulder scare you? You're surrounded by people already," the soldier gaped at her.

"What are you doing here?" he pulled off his earphones and relaxed more.

"I'm looking for Pip. He sent a note telling me to come down here," she scanned the room once more.

"Oh yeah you're that new girl, the one that cooks so good! Just go to the end of the line, he's in the last stall," the soldier put his earphones back on and began shooting again.

Cat walked slowly to the last stall. She peaked around the corner and found a man shooting a target with a machine gun. He had a long braid wrapped around his neck like a scarf and he wore a hat pressed tightly down on his head with the flap pinned up on one side. His clothes were baggy and old looking and Cat guessed he was about six feet tall. She cleared her throat between one of the machine gun blasts and he turned around. He was handsome and looked to be about middle aged. Probably not too much older than Integra. He had a strange looking eye patch on his left eye that had little holes in it. Cat thought they were probably for ventilation. Right over the bridge of his nose he wore a Band-Aid, but the strangest part about him was the smoking cigarette dangling between his lips.

"Yeah?" he looked at her and took a puff of his cigarette.

Cat looked down at the name on the note. It had been signed in blocky childish letters, "Are you Pip Bernadette?"

"Why yes I am, and who might you be you pretty little thing?" he eyed her up and down.

Cat sighed, some of the soldiers had stopped practicing and were now watching the conversation. "I'm Katherine Deschain. I'm supposed to be learning to defend myself."

"Oh right right right! The little stray kitten Sir Hellsing took in. I assume you have never shot a gun before little one. We'll start you with a nice girly hand gun," he went over to one of the lockers and pulled out a regular looking hand gun.

"I have shot a gun before but it was five years ago," Cat made up her mind to not let them get under her skin. It would only make learning harder which would mean she would have to stay even longer.

"Well here you go then. You just point it at that wee paper man and try to hit him. We strive for the head or the heart. Never to maim only to kill," he guided her into the booth and plunked a set of earphones over her ears.

Cat examined the gun. The safety was still on so she switched it off. She then checked the chamber for bullets. Her Aunts boyfriend had taught her these things first. It was dangerous to handle a gun if you were not familiar with all of its parts. The cylinder was fully loaded so she flipped it back closed and took a deep breath. She slowly raised the gun with her right hand and rested it on her left wrist just below the trigger to steady herself. She took careful aim and pulled the trigger. Her hand was knocked back a bit but she did not let it faze her when she heard some of the soldiers' chuckle. She took aim and fired once more then took off the earphones.

"There you are, check it," she turned around and looked at pip.

"What do you mean check it? You haven't hit it you're only getting used to the feel of the gun," he put his hands on his hips and laughed.

"Well I've aimed to hit it so check and see if I did," Cat had seen the paper move when she fired the gun. She was pretty sure she had hit the target if not dead on then very close. It had felt natural firing the gun. She suspected she had practiced five years ago more than she could remember.

"Yeah alright, but if you haven't you'll bake all of us a cake," he walked up to the stall to bring the target in.

"And what if I have hit it? What do I get," Cat grinned at him innocently.

"I won't tease you ever again. Is that fair?" he pressed the button and the target skimmed towards them on the zip line.

"I guess that's fair enough," Cat smiled as he snatched the piece of paper off the hanger.

"I don't believe this! Look at this boys! She's shot him right between the eyes! And in his heart as well," Pip looked up at her and smiled ear to ear. "They didn't tell me they were sending talent. I thought I was in for months of girly complaints and wasted bullets but this is great!" Pip shoved the paper at one of the soldiers and ran over to Cat. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and picked her up in a bear hug. He even shook her back and forth a bit before she started to yell. "You won't be needing this sort of practice. Once I've familiarized you with how all the different guns work its straight to sniper practice!" Cat's smile faltered a bit when she heard this.

"Don't fret love you'll be brilliant at it. You haven't held a gun in five years and you've already hit this guy dead on," he started pulling different guns out of the lockers and stuffing them into a bag.

"Yeah but he was just hanging there. What about when someone is running at me to attack?" she put the safety back on the gun and walked over to him.

One of the soldiers spoke up, "You mean something, not someone."

"What do you mean something! Alucard said I should know how to defend myself. I assumed he meant from attacking boys in back alleys," the soldiers gave her an odd look. "I just mean I thought he meant people. Why would I ever be shooting inhuman things? Why would I even be around them?" Cat was becoming frustrated. She felt like she had been misled.

"Well you know who your parents were right? Did you think you would only be making food forever? You're destined to be great love you just have to give yourself the chance," Pip finished packing up the bag and stood up.

"So what then? I'm going to be Alucard's henchman or something? This is crap what if I don't want to go out risking my life for England? It isn't as though Alucard needs or wants any help," Cat tossed the gun in one of the lockers.

"It's the principle of the thing. You're gaining a great life skill for free! You're learning to defend yourself too, most likely you'll never have to though," he took hold of her sleeve and started leading her out the back door.

"I guess you're right. I doubt Integra would send me out to fight crime. Where are we going?" Pip had led her into a grassy area.

"We are going to sit down here and I am going to teach you about each of these guns. I'll show you how to take them apart and clean them and put them back together," he looked up and saw the doubt in Cat's eyes. "You worry too much already love, you're much too young for that. It sounds daunting I know but they all have the same basic components. You're a natural you'll learn in no time," he set to work spreading out a tarp and laying all the pieces of each gun out on it.

Pip taught Cat about the guns until 1 o'clock when she had to go make lunch. She ate with the soldiers and then went back out with Pip to practice more. She did this until 5 o'clock when she went to make dinner and then practiced more until about eight. This ritual went on for about two weeks when she finally knew each gun by memory. She could take them all apart and clean them then put them back together again. Pip had shown her how to shoot them as well and there were some she was better with than others.

After learning the guns he had taken her to a different shooting range that had targets set at different distances. Cat gasped when she saw how far away they were.

"How am I supposed to hit those! The closest one is miles!" she looked at Pip angrily.

"It's actually 500 meters. The next one is 1,000 then 1,500 all the way up 3,000," he started fitting a scope on one of the sniper rifles.

"You really expect me to hit that?" Cat sat down on a bale of hay.

"I do," he handed her the rifle, "You had better make it to at least 2,000 meters or I will have failed as a teacher."

Cat peaked through the scope, "Oh! Well it doesn't seem so far with this. I can practically see the woods grain on the first guy and the second one looks like he's standing right in front of me."

With that said Cat started to practice on the sniper course every day. On the day of the second week she hit the 2,500 meter target. She had been so excited she ran onto the field to retrieve the target and she rushed off to find Pip with it tucked under her arm.

She found him sitting in the back yard of the mansion smoking.

"Do you know what this is?" she held up the target man with the perfect hole through his plywood head.

"Looks like a target to me," he snuffed out his cigarette and stood up.

"Yes, and do you know what spot this target came from?" she gave the target a shake to urge him on.

His eyes widened slightly, "No! You didn't."

"I did! I hit the freaking 2,500 meter target!" she threw the target in the air and let it land behind her.

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" he grabbed her around the waist and spun in circles in the yard. Cat in turn wrapped her arms around his neck. She could not stop laughing or smiling. She had never really done anything amazing in her life and she thought this was a great accomplishment. She had never had anything to be proud about until now.

"I could just kiss you!" Pip stopped spinning and let her down.

"Let's not get carried away," she laughed at him.

"Oh maybe not today, but some day love I'll get you when you aren't paying attention," he ruffled her hair and took out another cigarette.

"Should I tell Integra?" Cat looked at the target on the ground.

"I would guess she already knows. Her window is just up there," Pip pointed up to the third row of windows.

"Oh. I wonder what she'll have to say," just then Alucard stepped onto the porch and called to Cat.

"Sir Hellsing would like a word with you," he then quickly stepped back inside.

"Well love that was short lived. She already wants you to go out and hunt monsters," he laughed and turned to go back to the armory.

"Do you really think so?" Cat walked inside and looked around for Alucard. She felt like she had not spoken to him in ages. When she thought about it she really hadn't. She had been practicing so much and she only saw him when she brought him blood packs in the evening. She walked up the stairs to the third floor but he had already disappeared.

"He's gone back to bed I guess," Cat took her time getting to Integra's office. She anticipated what she was going to be told and she was not excited about it.

She reached the office door and knocked.

"Come in," Integra called.

Cat walked in and closed the door behind her. She was glad to see Alucard standing at the edge of the desk. She hoped he would be proud of her as well, but she did not expect much. She walked up to the desk and sat down in one of the chairs.

"These chairs are terrible you know. It's like sitting on a rock," she wiggled in the chair trying to get comfortable.

"Really? Well I will have to take care of that wont I?" she peered down her nose sarcastically. "So you have hit the 2,500 meter mark I hear. You've gotten very good at the sniper rifle," she shuffled around some papers on her desk.

"I guess I'm okay at it," Cat looked down at her shoes. She knew what was coming.

"You don't need to be modest Katherine it's quite an amazing thing to be so good at such a young age," Integra put the papers down and looked at her.

Cat looked up at her and then she looked over at Alucard. She let her eyes linger on his for a moment then she spoke to Integra, "You want me to help out with things?"

"Yes, it would be admirable if you did help out with things. No one is forcing you though. It is your choice," Integra watched as Cat's eyes flashed again to Alucard, "and _only _your choice."

"I will help," Cat twiddled her thumbs, "It will be more interesting target practice anyway, right?" she smiled weakly.

Alucard let out a booming laugh, "Atta girl. Finally she shows some more character and skills other than cooking."

"Alucard you may leave. Go to bed there is a mission tonight. You should be well rested," Integra swatted at him and he phased through the floor after one last evil grin towards Cat.

"Don't worry it will be fine. Alucard will be taking care of most of it and I will be sure Ferguson stays with you the entire time," Integra picked up a paper and wrote something down.

"What! You want me to go on _tonight's_ mission?! I thought you were talking about in the future! The distant future!" Cat sat on the edge of the stony chair.

"Tonight's mission is perfect for you to start out. It's going to be quick and easy, it will give you an idea of what we are up against. You don't have to go if you don't want to," Integra looked disappointed.

"No, I'll go. I guess I'm just overreacting. I haven't been sleeping much," she leaned back in the chair.

"Why don't you go and take a nap. I'll have Walter make dinner. I'm sending everyone out at 10 o'clock and it could take all night so you'll want to get as much rest as you can right now," she picked up the phone to dial Walter.

"Okay. I've only been here a month and I'm already picking up undead sleeping patterns. That can't be a good sign," Cat got up and left Integra snickering at her desk. She walked back to her room dragging her feet the entire way. She switched the light out and set her alarm clock for 9 pm. A five hour nap sounded wonderful and she quickly fell asleep dreaming of plywood men attacking the soldiers and her shooting them down and saving them all.


	25. A Soldier

It is 430 in the morning and I am dead tired.  
Review for all my hard work. Or I will Die. Enjoy

**A Soldier**

Cat rolled over in the bed. She rubbed her eyes and tried to find her beeping alarm clock. She struggled to reach it on the bedside table but it seemed to be miles away. She smashed the pillow over her head and groaned.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" she called out through the pillow.

"Miss Cat? Are you still asleep?" Walter walked in with a bundle of clothes.

"No Walter I'm awake. What do you have there?" Cat slid out of the bed and smacked her alarm onto the floor. The battery popped out and flew under the bed. She would have to remember to find it later.

"This will be your Hellsing uniform," he held out the yellow bundle.

"Yellow? I'm going to look like a target Walter!" she took the clothes and unfolded them to look. "Walter…this is a skirt."

"Yes, Sir Hellsing thought you might feel that way so I brought these as well," he pulled another uniform out of a bag and handed it to her. This one was a dark blue color with the Hellsing logo on the sleeve and front pocket. She picked up the bottoms and was relieved to see they were shorts. Though a bit shorter than any she would ever wear they would do for now.

"Suit up and then come to Sir Integra's office. She will brief you on the situation and introduce you to Peter Ferguson," Cat looked at him with worry, "Don't worry you won't need to know that much about what's going on and you won't have to decide to act for yourself. You'll be with Ferguson the entire time and he will tell you when and what to shoot." Walter left Cat standing still in fear.

"This is way too much for me to handle," she thought as she stripped out of her clothes and into the crisp uniform. "At least this fits right." She looked in the mirror and admired the uniform. It made her look very professional and dangerous. If someone saw her on the streets dressed like this they would not dare touch her, especially if she had a sniper gun resting over her shoulder. She heard laughter and turned around but no one was there. She had learned by now not to assume she had imagined it and to assume instead that she had really heard it.

She pulled her hair back in a ponytail then pulled it halfway through the hair tie to make a loop out of her hair. She turned around to look at it in the mirror and laughed. It looked very similar to Alucard's funny red tie. After she was done giggling she left the room and went to Integra's office. She could hear them talking inside and knocked. No answer came so she decided to just go in.

"Since when do you not knock?" Integra looked at her suspiciously.

"I did knock but no one answered. It's not like I was trying to catch you saying something secret," Cat walked up to the desk and looked at her annoyed. She felt more comfortable talking to Integra than she had a month ago.

"Well let me introduce you to Peter Ferguson. He's commander of the Hellsing Special Forces. He'll take good care of you so you need not worry," Integra nodded at Ferguson who then nodded back.

Cat looked at him a moment then stuck out her hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Katherine Deschain."

Ferguson shook her hand and Cat tried not to flinch. His grip was bone crushing but she thought it must be important to have a good handshake when you were in the army. She squeezed back as hard as she could and Ferguson nodded his approval to Integra.

Cat sat down and waited for Integra to tell her about the situation.

Integra looked at Cat worried. She was not sure how she would react to what was going on and she was not sure Cat was even capable of killing something. Even though they were undead evil creatures they still looked like humans. She might even associate them with Alucard and hesitate because of that. After all, if Alucard was left alive for what he was why shouldn't other vampires be left alive? Integra hoped Cat would have better judgment than she was imagining her to.

"The situation is a usual one. A group of vampires is terrorizing families in their homes. They've been going at it quietly for the past couple nights but now they're acting more viciously and even pulling the people out of their beds and into the streets. We need them disposed of swiftly and discreetly," she nodded at Ferguson and he turned to leave.

"That's it? I don't need to know anything else?" Cat hesitated to stand. She felt too much like she was in the dark.

"Yes…that's it. Just follow Ferguson he'll tell you what to do," she got up to walk Cat to the door, "And please try not to worry. It will only make things worse." She gave Cat a small push and closed the door behind her. "God help that child to pay attention and remember what she's been taught. It would be impossible to explain to the Queen why I let a sixteen year old girl out to hunt vampires."

Cat followed Ferguson down the hallway and out the back door to the armory. Once inside he took a gun case out of one of the lockers and handed it to her. "This is the gun Pip has been training you with. The scope and all the ammo are inside," he turned back to the door and went out.

Cat followed him trying to think of something to say but her mind was blank. She just trotted after him like an obedient child and crawled into the back of the army truck with him. Five other soldiers were inside. She smiled when she saw that one of them was Lucian.

"Alright Cat?" he smiled back at her.

"Alright enough I suppose," she sat down on the bench next to Ferguson and hugged the gun case between her knees.

After they had been driving for a while she spoke up, "So is anyone else going or just us?"

"Just us for tonight, we should be able to take care of the problem quickly. Alucard will be there if things get out of hand," he looked at her and winked, "And we will be there if Alucard gets out of hand.

She laughed a little. She was glad to see that Ferguson had a sense of humor.

The truck rocked gently back and forth and Cat was tempted to fall asleep. Her long nap had only made her more tired and she slowly let her head droop onto the gun case. Just when she was slipping into unconsciousness she truck skidded to a stop and if it had not been for Ferguson sitting next to her she would have flown onto the floor.

"Alright boys keep your wits about you and don't turn your back for much more than a second. There are fifteen targets all together. Assume there are still fifteen targets left. There's no telling if Alucard has killed any yet," Ferguson waved the boys out of the truck and then hoped out himself. "Come on Katherine! Now is not the time to decide you are incapable of shooting monsters!"

Cat crawled out of the truck and looked at him, "Fifteen? There are FIFTEEN vampires here?! Why didn't anyone tell me there would be so many? I probably would have changed my mind about coming!"

"That is precisely why no one told you how many there were. Whether it is one or fifteen the situation is still the same. We must take each target out efficiently. Follow me, we are going to the roof of that building. You'll have a good view of the street from there," Ferguson walked quickly to the building and Cat jogged after him. Once they were on the roof he instructed her to set up the sniper facing down the middle of the street so she could aim quickly at any 'targets' that came out of the houses.

"Why do you keep calling them targets? Why don't you just call them vampires? That's what they are anyway," she snapped the scope onto the gun and started loading it with the shiny silver tipped bullets.

"Because that is all they deserve to be called. They have killed a dozen families for fun and games. When I tell you to shoot, Katherine, you must shoot. You must not hesitate because they look human or because they are like Alucard. They are murders and you must be the one to stop them. If you hesitate for even a second they will have the chance to escape and kill again," Ferguson looked down at her seriously.

She locked the bolt carrier and looked up at him, "I understand."

"Good. Now we wait," he sat down and leaned his back on the roofs little wall.

"We wait? What's everyone else doing?" she looked at him bewildered.

"They're looking for the targets. You didn't think they would just walk out of wherever they were hiding as soon as it got dark did you? They are most likely in one of the homes of the people they killed. We will know as soon as the screaming starts."

"Screaming! We're going to let things get as far as screaming?" Cat was shocked.

"It really can not be helped. There's so many of them one is bound to get away and try to kill someone else. Don't be alarmed it will be fine. They are unorganized and young. Very similar to you," he chuckled and lit a cigarette.

"I don't see why Alucard can't just use some crazy monster power and kill them all at once," she hunkered down and rested her chin on the wall peering down the street at all the houses.

"He probably could but it would be much too dangerous for everyone else," Ferguson threw a jacket behind his head and pulled his hat down over his eyes.

"Why didn't we evacuate the people from the houses? Wouldn't that be safer?" she waited for an answer but none came. "Ferguson?" she looked over at him but he had fallen asleep.

"Well that was fast," she flicked the burning cigarette out of his hand and rested her chin back on the wall.

"What am I supposed to do now? I thought everything was going to be constantly exciting but this is stupid. Alucard could probably take care of this on his own. All of us are just filler. Or maybe we're decoys! No, Integra wouldn't allow that…I hope," Cat continued talking to herself for a few more minutes then she started to doze off. She jumped when she heard a door slam. She looked at her watch and it was only 10 o'clock.

"Why did we go out so early," she rubbed her eyes and looked down the street. A man had walked out of one of the houses. He stood on the stoop and stretched his arms up to the sky and yawned. He stood for a moment then walked down the steps and stood in the street. He looked at his watch then looked around.

"It looks like he just woke up. But I just woke up so…maybe he was napping," she looked through the scope but could only see the back of his head. "Come on, turn around guy. Turn around," and as if he had heard her, the man abruptly turned around and she saw them. Two deep red eyes glowing and looking right at her.

"Shoot him."

Cat restrained from jumping at the voice and immediately pulled the trigger. The gun was already aimed between the man's eyes and as soon as the gun went off he turned to dust.

Ferguson jumped up yelling and pointing his gun all around. Cat just sat there looking at him. If he had not told her to shoot then who had?

"What in God's great name are you doing?!" he looked at her with wide eyes.

"That man came out of the house so I looked at him through the scope. Then I heard someone say 'shoot him' so I did. He had glowing red eyes and look! He's just turned into dust!" Cat pointed to where the man had been.

"You heard someone say shoot him?" Ferguson slowly sat down but kept his eyes on the street this time.

"Yeah, if it wasn't you my next guess would be Alucard. Who else could it be? I had just been in the middle of considering shooting him when I heard it. He must have decided to make my mind up for me. You had said not to hesitate for even a second but the thought crossed my mind what if I was just imagining red eyes and he was a person. You were sleeping and I didn't know what to do," Cat felt upset.

"No it's alright you did the right thing. I'm sure it was Alucard. He is probably near here watching everyone," Ferguson looked down at the street. The lights in the homes were going out. "Now that they've heard a gun shot they'll be coming to investigate," he picked up his radio and called to the other soldiers. "You boys alright?" the radio buzzed for a moment then they answered back, "Yeah we're fine. What was that gun fire?"

"Katherine took down her first vampire," they smiled at each other as they heard Lucian in the back ground cheering.

"Tell her congrats. She's officially a Special Forces officer now don't you think Ferguson?"

"Indeed she is. You boys sit tight now. Things are going to pick up now that they know something's going on," he turned the radio down and put it back in his belt.

"You don't think they know where we are, do you?" Cat looked behind her and then over the wall to be sure no one was sneaking up it.

"I think we're safe for now. They weren't expecting that shot and I don't think the others saw what happened. They may assume it was just a burglar or a misfire in someone's home," he pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked through them.

"What if one of them sneaks up behind us? Could you shoot it fast enough?" Cat again looked behind her. She was getting worried.

"Well one of us could," Ferguson continued staring through the binoculars.

"What do you mean one of us?" Cat looked at him suspiciously.

"Well they can only attack one person at a time. If it attacked you then I could shoot it, and if it attacked me then you could shoot it," he took his eyes away form the binoculars and looked at her.

Cat just stared at him and shook her head in defeat. She looked through the scope of her gun and scanned up and down the street. All the lights in the houses had gone out and Cat could see no movement. She and Ferguson waited for ten minutes with their eyes pressed against the glass of their scope and binoculars. Then Cat heard a scream.

She gasped and looked at Ferguson, "What do we do!"

"We quietly wait. That is the only thing we can do," he continued scanning the street for movement.

"Well we have to do something! It isn't fair that those people are just going to die. Alucard should be down there doing something not hiding!" she frantically looked on the roof tops to see if she could find him.

"Just calm down and keep ready. If any run into the street you'll need to shoot them, you can't do that if you're looking for that bloody vampire," he pulled Cat's sleeve so she would sit back down.

She tried calming down but more people were screaming and it was gut wrenching. She hoped one of the vampires would be careless soon and run out into the street. She wanted to shoot them all herself.

Alucard had been watching Cat from one of the roof tops on the neighboring street. He watched her get excited as the man came out of the house and he read her thoughts as she saw his red eyes. He waited a half a second for her to shoot the man herself but he could tell she would not without instructions so he planted the thought in her mind. He had been surprised at how quick she reacted even though she had not known where the voice had come from. It was unlike Ferguson to fall asleep but everyone had their nights. When the screams started he watched her panic and waited for her to settle down and put her eyes back on the street before he began making his way to the house where the screaming was coming from. He went through the side wall and followed the scent of the rouge vampire into the living room. It was a young boy and he was pointing a gun at a woman in a corner and laughing.

"Pathetic slime," the boy jumped and wheeled around.

"How did you get in here?!" he pointed his gun at Alucard.

Alucard scoffed at him, "You didn't even sense me coming did you." He took a step forward and the boy stumbled backwards. "You aren't even worth devouring, but you will make good target practice for the girl."

"What are you talking about! Get away from me!" the boy stumbled backwards more and unloaded his gun into Alucard's stomach.

Alucard only laughed, "You think that pathetic weapon of yours can harm me?" He pulled out his Casull, "This is a real gun you worthless piece of dirt. Now run! Run into the street and meet your death! Or stay here and meet a grimmer one."

The boy threw the gun at Alucard in a last feeble attempt to harm him then turned and ran out the door. Cat saw him as soon as he hit the street and she aimed her gun.

"He's so young!" Cat was surprised, "How do I tell if he's a civilian or a vampire?"

"Unless you see his face you can't," Ferguson picked up the radio to call for assistance.

"He is a low life being. Shoot him."

Cat obeyed and shot the boy in the head. He tumbled from his run into a pile of dust.

Ferguson put down the radio, "How did you know."

"Alucard again I guess. I mean who else could it be," Cat sat back from the gun and reloaded it. "So that's two down and thirteen to go huh."

"Yes, but now they will have sensed Alucard so things will get harder," Ferguson lifted the binoculars to his face again.

"So we just sit here and wait? It's like hunting game," Cat rested her head on her arm.

"That is exactly what it's like, but if this game spots you it will not run away. It will come to kill you."

"That's why we have Alucard down there. He can come to save us," Cat smiled thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't be so sure he would," Ferguson looked at her with pity.

"Of course he would! He would get in too much trouble if he didn't. Plus I think he would be sad if one of us died don't you?" Cat looked at him and smiled sincerely. She had already considered how Alucard would feel if any of the soldiers died. She decided he would be sadder if Walter died then if she died.

"No, I do not," Ferguson went back to his binoculars and Cat frowned.

In the course of an hour Alucard sent out seven more vampires for Cat to shoot. By this time she had learned to discern human from vampire by the way they ran out of the houses. When it was a human they stumbled out, often falling down the steps and looking behind them and around them constantly. They would also run to another house rather than try to escape from the area. When the vampires ran out they did not stumble or look back. They set to running straight down the street as fast as they could, but it was never fast enough. Cat locked onto them each time and turned them into dust.

The other vampires Alucard tortured, devoured, and shot. When he was finished he met up with the soldiers on the ground and told them to call Ferguson.

"Ferguson?" Ferguson picked up his radio and answered.

"Yes? Did you get them all?" he furrowed his brow in anticipation.

"Yes, Alucard says he took care of the other five that he didn't send out for Cat."

Cat thought for a minute then spoke up, "I only got nine."

"What?" Ferguson looked at her.

"Yeah, I shot that first guy before the screaming started. Then after Alucard went in I got eight more. That only makes fourteen," Ferguson held the radio up so the other soldiers could hear what she was saying.

"So do you think the count was wrong Chief?" the look of worry on Ferguson's face worried Cat.

She took the radio from him, "Alucard?"

"Yes?" his deep voice boomed out of the radio.

"Where is the other one?"

"Whatever do you mean, Sniper?"

"You know what I mean Alucard! You know where he is now tell us!" Cat was getting scared but she tried not to show it.

"He's headed for the roof, you'd better act fast," the radio went fuzzy and Ferguson looked at Cat.

"How did you know it wasn't a miscount?"

"Integra wouldn't send us in thinking there were fifteen if there weren't fifteen," she pulled the scope and tripod off her gun and sat with her back against the wall. "Should we stay here or go looking for it?"

"I think staying here might work. They haven't shown much intelligence so far so maybe it will just rush at us," Ferguson pulled out his hand gun and held it ready.

"I'm scared," Cat didn't take her eyes off the roof top door.

"That's alright. It happens to the best of us," he took a quick glance to the ground and back to the door again.

Cat sighed, "How long do you think this will take?"

"There's no telling. We just have to wait. Like hunters waiting for their prey," Ferguson squatted against the wall.

"What if we're the prey? Maybe it's already watching us," Cat looked around at the other roof tops but saw nothing.

Cat started to get tired of sitting and waiting for something to attack. It had only been three minutes but it felt like eons.

"Alucard," she kept her eyes on the door, "Alucard…," she still stared at the door. "Alucard!" as soon as she reached to grab the radio the vampire burst through the door. As hard as she tried she could not keep from screaming. Without thinking she shut her eyes and dove to the side away from Ferguson. She heard his gun go off and opened her eyes thinking he must have shot the vampire. Instead she watched as it dodged the bullets and threw Ferguson to the side. She tried to aim but she was shaking too much and she was still lying on the ground. She got up meaning to run further away so she would not hit Ferguson. The vampire turned around and looked at her. He did not speak. He only laughed before he rushed at her. She screamed again and fell backwards before he could grab her. If the situation had not been life threatening she would have laughed at how funny she looked falling straight onto her butt with her knees bent and her gun pointed in the air. She looked up as the vampire stared at her licking his lips. Her gun was pointed straight at him but he did not seem afraid of being shot. Cat's finger was already on the trigger. She looked him in the face and started to cry. She pleaded for him to not kill her, to let her live or at least take her with him. He laughed again and leaned down with his arms outstretched.

Cat abruptly stopped crying. The vampire paused for a split second at this change in her emotion. As soon as he did, Cat pulled the trigger. The blast seemed to echo over and over again into the night. He stumbled backwards clutching his stomach. The silver burned his flesh but he did not die. Cat stood up to face him.

"Please," he sputtered through a mouth full of blood.

Cat pushed the barrel of the gun into his eye, "It's too late." She pulled the trigger once more and the heathen man turned to ash.

Cat ran over to Ferguson, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What about you," he clamored up and re-holstered his gun.

"I'm okay I guess," Cat looked herself up and down to be sure. "Can we leave please?" she looked up at Ferguson exhausted.

"Yes, we can leave. You've done brilliantly," he patted her on the shoulder.

Cat could not stop herself from hugging him, "I thought he was going to kill you, and then kill me!"

"It's alright, you've learned the first lesson of hunting vampires. You must kill them first. And you did," he picked up the radio and called the soldiers. "Get the truck ready, we're coming down."

"Are you two alright?"

"Yes, we're fine."

Cat picked up her scope and tripod and shakily put them and her gun back into the case. She picked it up and cradled it diagonally in her arms as she treaded down the stairs. She wondered if Alucard had already left and when she walked out of the building she saw he had.

"Where did Alucard go?" she looked at Lucian for an answer.

"He left after you called his name for the third time," she saw the pity he held for her in his eyes.

"I see," she walked towards the truck to get in.

Lucian took her gun case from her and got in after her. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah I'm sure. I just want to go to sleep and forget about all of this," she rested her head back on his arm and closed her eyes. All she could see was the vampire staring at her and laughing, and then the blood spewing from his mouth, blood that he had stolen from someone else for his own had dried up long ago. The truck started to move and Cat fell asleep to the gentle rocking.

Integra was waiting for the truck when it arrived back at Hellsing. Cat woke up, but kept her eyes closed. She was lying on the bench in the truck now and everyone had gone. She could hear Ferguson telling Integra all about what had happened. When he told her about what Alucard did she yelled. She called Alucard and asked him about it. Cat could not hear what they said after that. They were whispering too low, but she caught something about not waking her up. She cracked her eye opened just enough to see what was going on. She saw the canvas of the truck part and someone came in. She quickly closed her eyes again and pretended to be asleep. The person picked her up and stepped out of the truck. They carried her inside and down the hallways to her bedroom. She remained limp and tried to figure out who it was without opening her eyes. It certainly was not Integra. She thought it might be Lucian but she felt hirer up than he would have been. Maybe it was Ferguson, but he had been limping when they were walking to the truck. She again cracked open her right eye and then saw the flash of red. She sighed audibly; he would have known she was awake anyway. She opened her eyes the rest of the way and looked up at him angrily. He had left her there even after he knew they needed help.

"But you didn't need help," he spoke keeping his eyes forward.

"You didn't know that! Both Ferguson and I could have been killed," she balled her fists up and looked at him. It was so indignant to fight with someone while being carried.

"But you were not killed. You faired well," he still did not look at her which only angered her more.

"It doesn't matter if I did fine! What if I hadn't! What if he had killed Ferguson instead of just tossing him away! What if he had attacked me right away instead of just toying with me! Why don't you look at me!" she was yelling now and did not care who heard her.

They were in front of her door now and he roughly put her down, "Stop your childish yelling. Did I not tell you I would send you to Pip who would teach you to defend yourself. He taught you did he not? And now you do not need to be protected."

"It doesn't matter if I learned to defend myself! That situation was different! I didn't know what I was doing! You're supposed to know when to help someone! You don't just leave when they need you!" Cat could not contain herself anymore. She was so upset about what had happened she started to cry.

Alucard grabbed her by her shoulders giving her a shake and bringing himself down to her level, "Do not reprimand me child. You do not know the rules of living in this world. You are a soldier now; your life of lazing about is over. Learn to protect your self or you will die. War is cruelty and none can make it gentle. Take what the battle gives you and run with it."

Cat did not know what to say, she could only stare at him with wide eyes and bite her lip.

Alucard waited to see if she would make a retort but she only stood shaking under his hands. He lightly squeezed her shoulders and stood back up again. He let his hands fall back to his sides and he left down the hall. He watched behind him as she stood staring at the spot he had been then at the last moment before he turned the corner she moved to watch him go. She was a difficult thing, but a fair soldier none the less.

Cat turned around and went into her room. She was shocked and slightly dazed. She could not manage to get undressed or pull the covers back so she fell onto the bed as she was and fell into a deep sleep. When she awoke the next morning she would remember everything that had happened the night before. She would discuss the short battle with the other soldiers and she would tell Pip all about what happened. She would even complain to the men about how Alucard had simply left her and Ferguson there to die and they would agree with her and pat her on the back for being brave.

She would complain about it, but inside she would always remember what he had said to her in the hallway and she would cherish it more than anything anyone told her ever again.


	26. An Empty Vessel

After months of not writing anything! Here is the next chapter.  
I hope you Enjoy.

**An Empty Vessel **

Mere days after her first mission before she even had time to get over the shock of it all Integra instructed Pip to train Cat in hand to hand combat.

"Why in the world would I need to know how to fist fight someone?!" Cat was outraged at the simple idea of it and unconsciously waved her hand gun around in the air. It was a modest Target Grey Super Redhawk and she had opted for the one in .454 Casull.

"It is necessary despite the fact that you are an excellent shot," Integra warily kept her eye on Cat's gun as she shifted through numerous letters. "Vampires are not the only things you will have to face. There are bad humans in the world as well."

"Yes but," Cat was having trouble finding an argument for this statement. She had experienced first hand that there were bad people in the world and learning to break someone's collar bone with her thumb was starting to sound like a good idea.

"But what Miss Deschain?" Integra stopped shuffling and looked at her seriously. "There is no way out of it you will learn whether you like it or not."

"Yeah alright," she dropped her gun back into its holster with defeat, "but just the basics! I don't want to be out there for weeks and weeks learning some stupid type of karate or some silly thing like that."

"Of course not, now head down to see Pip and he will start teaching you right away. The sooner you learn the sooner you can be done with it," Integra finally selected one of the letters and tore it opened.

Cat watched as she scanned around the page and her face fell into a deep frown. "Is something the matter?"

"No it's nothing, just a letter from someone I know. They're having a party to bring in the fall season and I am required to attend," Integra looked back at the top of the letter to read it in full.

"That's odd for them to tell you about it so early. It's only May," Cat edged closer to the desk interested in what the party would be like.

"They are known for having very extravagant parties and months of planning are necessary," she looked up from the letter, "Go now! It isn't any of your concern, go learn to fight."

Cat pretended to be dying and stumbled out of the room. Once in the hall she walked as slow as she could towards the armory. She had been so happy to be done with gun training and now it was starting all over again. At least she would have something to occupy her time. Walter had told her that missions where she would be needed would most likely be rare so her kitchen duties would continue. Cat had not minded this but in the time between meals she had nothing at all to do.

She dreamily zigzagged down the hall dragging her hand across the smooth wallpaper. She could not help but wonder what Alucard was doing. He had not spoken to her since he had yelled at her and in the evenings when she brought him blood he was never in his room. She would leave it there and when she came back a short time later for the ice bucket it would be gone and he would be no where in sight.

Lucian had been very busy training lately and Walter was always busy cleaning. Cat was quickly becoming very lonely and almost longed to be back at school. She had considered asking Integra if she could go to a school besides her own but had thought better of it. She knew as soon as she started she would begin to tire of it quickly and would sooner not start than start and quit. She enjoyed reading in the library anyway and was learning lots of interesting things about the organization and legends about vampires and other mythical beings.

She sighed as she reached the hall that led to the training fields and rather than go down it she sat down around the corner and stared up at the ceiling. She thought that if she went out in public and hung around coffee shops and internet cafes maybe she would make some friends. She could not imagine herself doing this alone though. Who would want to make friends with a girl who was sitting all by herself? She thought about the money she had been saving up. Integra paid her every week for the work she did in the kitchen and she had given her some extra money for the mission she had completed. It was probably enough to afford a laptop computer. If she had one then it would make sense that she would be sitting at a café alone. Perhaps she would look mysterious or important typing away at her little computer with a hot cappuccino next to her.

She shuddered at the thought of actually drinking coffee. She thought it was disgusting. The shuddered happened to bring her attention to something at the end of the hall. She had never been down this hallway before. In fact she had not bothered to explore any more of the mansion after the first day she had been there.

The curiosity inside of her mind tugged at her sleeve and she slowly stood up to face the hall way.

"Oh, I suppose it couldn't hurt. It's not as though anyone would miss me very much. Not right away at least," she pulled her hair into a ponytail and set off slowly down the long hall trying to make out what it was at the end. It seemed to shimmer and blink the way the road did when it was very hot outside and you were driving on an empty highway. She hastened her step in fear the image would disappear just like the ones on the road when you grew too close. It held steady though and as she neared it became more solid and she could almost make it out. She broke into a run only to stop swiftly thirty feet away.

"You have to be kidding me," she spoke out loud to no one in particular. Cat approached the glinting object that had so captivated her only moments ago. "A fish tank," she bent over so she was eye level with the water, "and more than just that…an empty fish tank." She straightened up and sighed. Things could not always be so amazing in the mansion, but she wished she could catch a break once in a while.

She surveyed the tank from all angles. It was perfectly set up for fish with little plastic plants and stones in the bottom. It was clean as well, like someone had been taking care of it even though it was vacant. She wondered if Walter was the one who took care of it just in case Integra ever went out to buy goldfish on a whim.

"Kitty!" a voice called loudly from behind her. She recognized it without needing to turn around.

"I'm coming Pip!" she took one last look at the lonely fish tank and turned to jog back to where Pip was waiting. She felt sorry for it. It was empty and lonely just like she was. A perfect vessel to be filled with love and friendships, but instead left alone and only kept clean and in working shape.

"What were you looking at down there?" Pip stood on his toes as if being taller would help him see so far away.

Cat turned to look where the fish tank was, but the sun that had been shining through the windows had gone behind a cloud and the tank was no longer visible, "Nothing, I just thought I saw something but I was wrong."

"Well come on Love, Sir Hellsing called to make sure you were down here with me practicing. She said you left her office twenty minutes ago."

"Yeah yeah yeah! Practicing to fight off all those people that are always attacking me," she gave him a shove and danced nimbly out of his grasp.

"You never know Kitty, there's plenty of scum lurking around England."

"Is that how Integra found you and The Wild Geese so easily?" she laughed as he tried to grab her, but she was too quick.

"You're a natural at picking fights but can you defend yourself if you're caught!" he began running after her at full speed and she squealed and ran out the door into the sunlight.


	27. Constant Variable

Reviews Please.  
Suggestions as well.

Thank.

**Constant Variable**

After a few days of training with Pip Cat felt incredibly sore and incredibly tired. She could not put her heart into the combat training the way she had with the guns. It did not interest her and therefore she could not concentrate long enough to take any of it very seriously. She knew some basic defense moves like throwing her palm into someone's nose or slipping out of their grip if they grabbed her from behind but other than that she was doing poorly.

"Come on Love it's easy! Watch me and Lucian. After the person grabs you all you have to do is grab their arm and shoulder and tip all your weight forward and they'll fly right over you," he motioned for Lucian to grab him and then easily flipped him over his head.

"That isn't fair Pip, Lucian is smaller than you," Cat reached to pull Lucian off the ground and brushed the grass off his back.

"Hey come on now, I'm not that much smaller than him," he shook some more grass out of his hair then stood up next to Pip trying to look taller. "I'm five foot eleven. I think that's pretty tall."

"Compared to Cat anyone is tall," Pip leaned down so he was level with her and patted her on the head, "how tall are you Love? Four foot ten? Maybe eleven?"

"Stop it!" she slapped his hand away from her, "You're exaggerating terribly, I'm five foot six."

"Yes but you're so skinny and fragile looking you lose points," Pip took out a cigarette and lit it, seeming to give up on the training.

"Well how tall are you smart guy," Cat jumped forward and flicked the cigarette out of his hand before he could take a puff.

"I'm sitting pretty on six foot three," he crossed his arms and stood up taller.

"I'm a terrible judge at height and distance," Cat sighed remembering how she thought Alucard was about six foot six. "How tall do you think Alucard it?"

"Uuugh," both of them groaned.

"You shouldn't think about him so much Cat he isn't right in the head," Lucian looked at her with concern and a bit of jealousy.

"Just tell me Pip! It isn't as though I think about him day and night I was just wondering," she made a sour face at him.

Pip reached for another cigarette and lit it, "I'd say he's pushing six foot nine."

"Wow, that's tall," Cat imagined Alucard towering over everyone on the day they had gone shopping. It was a funny sight to see.

"Alright well I want to see you flip Pip, Lucian," she stood back and waited.

"Yeah okay, come on then Pip give it your best go," Lucian got into position and braced himself for the attack. Pip grabbed him from behind with his cigarette still hanging from his mouth and was quickly flipped over Lucian's head. He landed on his back with a grunt and without loosing his cigarette. He took a long pull of it and let the smoke blow out his nose.

"That is so gross. You're going to get cancer if you keep at those like that," Cat went to pull him up but he just laid there.

"I could use a little nap why don't you practice with Lucian for a bit," Pip pulled his hat over his eyes.

"Okay Lucian, come at me!" Cat acted excited and turned her back on him.

"I don't know Pip, I don't want to hurt her," he shuffled his feet and twiddled his thumbs.

"You're not going to hurt me you're just going to grab me from behind," she stood up straight and looked at him reassuringly. He had started to turn pinkish and Pip was snickering. "Oh come on you two! Don't be so immature, just hurry up and get it over with so I can prove there is no way I can do it."

"Okay okay," Lucian walked up to her and grabbed her around the shoulders.

Cat leaned over and pulled as hard as she could but Lucian was not going to budge. After a second of trying she opted to elbow him in the stomach and then trip him to the ground.

Pip had peeked out from under his hat and laughed, "There you go Love, if not one way then another."

"I'm leaving. I don't even have to do anything on the weekends I don't know why I came down here in the first place," Cat turned around and stomped away. She heard Pip and Lucian calling after her but she did not care. She was tired of learning to fight and she knew she would never need any more skills than the ones she already had.

She made her way back to the door and went into the cool mansion hallway. She paused for a moment and looked down the long corridor leading to her secret fish tank. She had checked on it every day since she found it to make sure it was not a dream. She thought about it for a moment then made up her mind and headed towards Integra's office.

Once there she knocked on the door and entered without waiting for a response. "Good afternoon," she smiled at Integra and sat down in one of the office chairs.

"Can I help you with something Cat?" Integra was vigorously writing in thin cursive and then crumpling up her paper to start again. She did this about three times before Cat had a chance to answer.

"I was wondering how I would get to town if I wanted to go out," she had never needed to ask permission to do something before and she didn't think she needed to now but she had no means of travel.

"What do you want to go into town for? Do you need to do some shopping because I could send Alucard with you if you don't want to go alone," Integra continued writing on the paper and then discarding it after a few sentences.

Cat was startled a little by her question. Would Alucard really go shopping with her again? Or would Integra have to order him to? She was being silly even thinking about it, "No I can go by myself. I just wanted to get out and look around. No offense but it's kind of boring here after a while."

"That's fine. I'll call a car for you and it will wait out front," the crease between her eyes had deepened with each paper she threw out and now she was digging the pen deep into the paper so it ripped.

"Do you have writers block?" Cat tried to lighten the mood that was hanging in the air. It was beginning to suffocate her.

"It's just a letter in response to the one about the party," she crumpled the paper again and didn't bother reaching for another.

"Why don't you just call them and tell them you'll be there," Cat stood up ready to leave.

"It's more complicated than that. Have a good outing. The driver will give you a phone to call him when you're ready to be picked up," she pulled out another piece of paper and started writing again.

"Thanks. Good luck with that," she turned and went out the door not bothering to wait for a response. It seemed like everyone around was either in a bad mood or was putting her in a bad mood.

Cat went quickly back to her room and changed into clean clothes and gathered up her savings. She went down stairs and out the front door even quicker, hoping not to see anyone along the way. She just was not in the mood to talk to anyone. She was appalled at how much Alucard avoiding her was affecting her mood.

She was glad to see the car waiting with the door opened and she hopped in and shut it fast.

"Where to Miss?" Cat was disappointed to see it was a different driver than the one who had taken her and Alucard the first time. This one did not seem as cheery.

"Um, is there a shopping area with cafes and little shops? Somewhere not as huge as Oxford Street?" she hoped the driver would not be annoyed with her for not knowing her way around.

"Sure there are lots of places like that. I'll take you to the nearest one. Dropped my granddaughter off down there not two hours ago, maybe you'll see her," he sped off down the driveway and roughly turned out onto the road. Cat quickly put on her seat belt.

"Yes, maybe," she stared out the window and wondered if anyone would speak to her while she was shopping. She fanaticized the dozens of girls and boys her age that would tell her how cute her outfit was or how cool her new laptop was and how they would invite her to hang out with them and to parties. The car hit a speed bump hard and her bubble full of fantasies popped.

After just fifteen minutes they arrived in a parking lot for an out doors mall.

"Is right here fine Miss?" the driver turned around but Cat was already getting out of the car. He rolled down his window and waved at her, "Now wait a minute! Don't forget the phone to call when you're ready. I'll pick you up at this same spot."

Cat back tracked and took the phone from him, "Thanks. It probably won't be all that long."

"Ah don't be so sure Miss. The kids around here come down every single Saturday, my granddaughter included. They'll be noticing if someone new is hanging around, especially since you're by yourself," he winked at her and rolled up the window.

Cat watched as he drove away. She decided that she liked him as much as she had liked the other driver. They were both helpful and jolly and it was a nice change from the morose, business like, and sarcastic personalities of the people at Hellsing.

She turned around to face the mall and was a little shocked at how many kids were actually there. She knew there would be quite a few but she had no idea they would be the _only _people there. It reminded her of _Children of the Corn. _She solemnly set out across the parking lot to find an electronics store. She hoped she would be able to find one quickly so she could get off the street. As she approached the main street that went up the middle of the mall she noticed a small group of girls at a café already looking at her. One of them smiled so she smiled back while walking faster at the same time.

"I can't believe the driver was actually right," she thought to herself, "These kids must not have lives or something." She laughed a little when she thought it. She did not really have a life currently either. Their obsessive mall going behavior was better than her ritual of cooking and going to the library every day.

Luckily Cat did not have to walk far before she found an electronics shop. She had only passed about three or four other stores when she found it set back slightly further than everything else. It was also considerably bigger which Cat thought was a good sign. She did not feel comfortable buying something so expensive at some tiny business. She pushed the door opened and was glad it had a little bell above it. That made it feel homier. As soon as the bell rang a sales person came up to her.

"Can I help you find anything?" he smiled with all his teeth and Cat thought it looked like his face was straining to make the smile bigger. His name tag said Glen and she laughed to herself.

"I think I just want to look around for a little bit first," she was already scanning the wall they had the lap tops on.

"Is there anything I can direct you towards to get you started?" his smile didn't relax as he talked.

"Um no…I'm just going to look at the lap tops," Cat started walking towards them but the sales man stayed with her.

"Ah a new lap top I see. Anything specific you'll be using it for?" he was walking so close to her she nearly tripped.

"I don't know yet I really just want to look at them," she caught the eye of a girl that worked in the store and the girl rolled her eyes and started to come over. Cat wondered if she was rolling her eyes at her and was going to yell at her for taking up Glen's time.

"Glen! I need you to go to the back and restock the printer paper," she did not wait for him to answer and pushed him towards the employee only door. "Sorry about that, I've told him over and over again that we don't work on commission but he just can't let it go. He used to sell cars."

"Ooh well that explains the smile about to rip his eyes farther apart," Cat rubbed her cheeks like looking at the smile had made them hurt. The girl giggled at her and Cat thought it sounded genuine enough. Much more so than Glen's smile.

"Well when you're done looking you can come find me if you have any questions or if you're ready to pick something. You probably know what you're looking for already right?" she smiled and Cat thought that most of the kids who came in here had rich parents and bought up the fanciest computer they could get.

"Actually I have no idea. I've never had a computer before and I've just moved in with…some relatives and they've given me some money to get one," Cat had not thought about how to explain her living situation. She was not planning to go back to school so she did not think she would ever need to explain it. Relatives sounded like something no one would question.

"What do you plan on using it for," the girl led Cat down the row of lap tops to the one at the beginning.

"I just want to be able to write on it and get onto the internet," the girl continued to look at her for more information. Cat was not sure what else there was. She was not interested in playing computer games.

"That can't be all you want it for!" she put her hand on her hip and looked at Cat expectantly.

"Well…maybe one that has a lot of storage space in case I get a camera soon?" she shrugged her shoulders and hoped this was good enough.

"That's more like it. I've never seen anyone who wasn't completely thrilled to be getting a new computer. My name is Liz by the way," she stuck her hand out and Cat shook it.

"You'll probably be very happy with this one, since you're only going to be storing written files and pictures it will basically never run out of room. You will probably want to download things off the internet sometimes, like programs and music so this one is good for that too. It runs pretty fast for a basic one. It comes in different colors too!" Cat had not smiled while Liz was telling her about the computer and she thought she should be excited about the colors. For Liz's sake anyway.

"Oh yea! That's the best part," she peeked at the price tag while she said it and was relieved to see it was well under her budget.

"Here are the colors, you have basic white, black and silver and then there is pink, green, blue, red and orange." She held up the card that showed the colors.

"Red," Cat did not bother thinking about it.

"Did you want to get an external hard drive or anything to back up your work on?" Liz pulled one of the tags off the display computer and headed towards the back.

"I'll just grab some blank CDs while I wait," she stepped down an isle and found a tower of one hundred blanks. She thought it would last her forever. She did not listen to music that much and no one used CDs for music anymore anyway.

She saw Liz walk up behind the counter with a sleek black box that had a handle. She went over to meet her and set the CDs down so she could get out her money.

"It comes to 578," Cat handed her the money and waited for her change.

"Thanks for all your help," Cat took her bag and box off the counter and smiled.

"No problem and if you have any trouble with it don't hesitate to come back. It's got a one year warranty so we'll fix it for free if anything happens in that time," another customer walked up to the counter and Liz waved goodbye.

Cat walked back out onto the sidewalk and looked around. She was not sure what she wanted to do next. She figured she should come back another day to play on the computer in one of the cafes. It would look silly if she was trying to set it up there. She decided to take a walk and scope out all the cafes that had wireless. She needed to make one last stop before she left but she did not want to make it too soon.

Cat soon found that all the cafes had wireless internet. In some of them it was free if you bought a drink or food and others you had to pay or have some kind of card. She peeked into windows of the clothing stores but did not see anything she really wanted or needed. She had taken care of everything she needed when she went with Alucard and she still was not used to being allowed to want something and then getting it.

She suddenly felt sad and tired and sat down on a bench to rest. The sky had started to look a bit dreary and she wondered if it would begin to rain before she had a chance to get back to the car. She considered buying an umbrella just in case but it did not really seem crucial. She stared up at a passing cloud while she absently rubbed her chest. It had been hurting lately for no reason, at least for no physical reason. She knew exactly why it was hurting and she knew what had made her suddenly feel sad.

She could not get Alucard out of her head. She was not sure how she felt about him. She knew it would be stupid to have a crush on a vampire. The thought alone could make her laugh out loud, but she still could not push the feeling away. She had never felt like this about anyone else. She had even hated Alucard at first but now he was causing her stress just by not being around. It was impossible that she had warm feelings about him but maybe she had replaced him as her constant variable. Everything had changed the night she met him and she had been used to things being exactly the same everyday. He was the first one there when things went awry and she had mentally made him her new constant variable. He would always be there now, or should always be there. He would not die and he would not leave because he could not. It all made sense to her now. What should have been constant had cruelly plucked itself from her life to cause her pain. She suspected he may even know that it was causing her pain to not be able to see him each day. She would have to do something about it herself. She needed to find him and pretend like nothing had happened and force him to talk to her.

With that decided Cat jumped off the bench and continued down the side walk looking for what she had really wanted to come shopping for. She felt like she had passed dozens and dozens of boring shops when finally she spotted it near the end of the mall. She quickened her pace almost into a run and stopped in front of the window.

"Pet store," she smiled at the bunnies in the window and went inside.


	28. I Can Relate

please PLEASE review

**I Can Relate**

The pet store was incredibly loud with the squawking of birds and the barking of dogs. It smelled like old cedar chips and to be blunt, poop.

Cat went to the back of the store to where they kept the fish and started walking along the dark isle. On this side she noticed they only had salt water fish. They were all extremely beautiful with bright colors and fancy fins and tails. Further down the row the tanks turned into those for cheap fish, the kind you fed to other animals. They were cute as well but mostly very plain looking and some were floating in the tank dead. Around the corner were all the fresh water fish starting with the aggressive ones. There were oscars and angel fish and little puffer fish eating each others fins off.

Finally at the very end Cat found them. Slow fat goldfish floating around in a tank like little balloons. She looked into the tank that held the medium sized ones and tried to find one that was fat enough for her liking. She wanted him to be very cute and friendly looking.

In the back of the tank she noticed there was one of the types that had the brain looking blob of skin on the top of its head. He was black on the top half of his body and orange on the lower half. He had very big fish lips that turned down into a noticeable frown. He was floating in the corner away from all of the other fish and he looked very cynical and grouchy.

"Excuse me," Cat waved to one of the passing pet store employees.

"Can I help you?" the old woman walked over to the fish tank.

"Yes, do you see that very angry looking fish in the corner? I need him," Cat smiled at the fish. She was very excited to bring him home and name him.

"Alright let me get a bag. You can wait at the register," the woman handed her a piece of paper with some numbers on it so the girl at the register could ring her up right away.

Cat was not sure she wanted to leave before the woman put the fish in a bag. What if something happened to him while she was waiting? She pulled herself towards the register with remorse and quickly paid, not taking her eye off the fish tanks on the other side of the store.

The woman finally came over with her fish in a bag, "Here you go. Don't forget to float him in the water for five minutes so he doesn't die of shock." She plopped the bag into Cat's hand and walked away.

"Uh…thanks," Cat was a little disturbed at how blunt she was but she got over it quickly when she looked at her new fish. "Now I'll always have something to do," she smiled at him and he gave her a scowl.

Cat left the pet shop and headed back down the side walk towards the parking lot. She stopped on the corner and while she was dialing the phone for the driver she noticed a group of kids coming towards her. She tried to act very busy so they would not talk to her but they stopped in front of her and waited for her to get off the phone.

"Hello?" the driver answered.

"Hi, it's Cat I'm ready to be picked up," Cat kept her eyes to the ground while she talked.

"Oh Miss Cat, I didn't recognize you're voice. I didn't think you'd be calling so early. Well there has been a little emergency so I'll be sending someone else to pick you up."

"Oh no, it isn't serious is it?" Cat was glad to have more to talk about. She did not want to know what these kids wanted. She clutched her new fish close to her.

"No nothing too serious I just need to visit my sister in the hospital. She slipped and hurt her leg," Cat could tell the driver was on the road. She heard cars honking and the whoosh of air.

"Okay well I hope she fells better. I'll let you go," Cat acted like she was listening a little while after the driver hung up. "Okay…uh huh...alright bye."

"Hi I'm Colin," the boy barley gave her a chance to hang up the phone before he was sticking his hand out for her to shake.

"Uh hi…I'm Cat," she shifted her fish to her other arm and shook his hand.

"These are my mates Paul and Braden and their girls Marie and Shannon," he pointed to each person as he introduced them.

"Hi," Cat gave them all a weak smile.

"Well anyway, I'm having a party tomorrow and we've never seen you around here before and you look pretty cool so I was wondering if you wanted to come to it," Colin did not fidget at all when he spoke. He stood very straight and was about as tall as Lucian.

"Umm...," Cat did not really feel interested in going but she did not have an excuse either. "You're having a party on Sunday?

"Ha-ha yeah everyone keeps saying that. I would have had it tonight but so many people had other plans already and I wanted everyone to be there. Monday is a holiday though so it's sort of like a Saturday tomorrow," he smiled at her and waited.

"Oh," Cat was not aware of the school holidays. She was not sure if she wanted people knowing she did not go to school. That would bring up a lot of questions. If anyone asked she decided she would say she was home schooled.

"Well?" she realized Colin was still waiting.

"Oh. I don't know. I wouldn't know anyone," she looked over towards the parking lot wondering who would be picking her up and if they would be arriving soon.

"Do you want to walk out there to wait for your ride while you think?" Colin waved his hand in front of him towards the parking lot kind of like a butler waves you inside the door.

"Yeah thanks. I'm not sure who I'm supposed to be looking for," Cat used that as an excuse to not look at any of the people walking with her. She scanned the parking lot back and forth.

"You would know me."

Cat looked up, "What?"

"At the party," Colin smiled again, "you would know me."

"Oh not really. I've only just met you and you'll be busy with all your other guests," Cat tried not to look at him. He was starting to make her feel bad.

"You must come from a rich family. It isn't that kind of party I won't have to tend to any guests," he laughed and Cat could not help smiling. He was being so persistent and she was sure now that they did not just want to make fun of her. Why should they? She looked very nice today and no one here knew about where she really came from.

Cat was about to answer but was distracted by a black and very fast looking car speeding into the parking lot. It sharply turned down the row of cars her and Colin and his friends were standing in. The car skidded side ways and the tires squealed as the driver hit the gas again. The car was heading right for them and Colin stepped in front of Cat and guided her back between two cars. The windows were dark and Cat could not see who was inside but she had a feeling she knew.

The driver hit the breaks at the last minute and left two black trails from the tires.

"That isn't your ride is it?" Colin still had his arm in front of Cat like it would protect her from being hit by the car.

"I don't know I haven't ever seen that car, but I have a sick feeling it is," Cat peered over his arm and waited for the driver to get out.

The driver revved the engine but did not roll down the window.

Cat jumped a little at the noise and inched a little farther behind Colin. She was not going to go up to the car. Whoever was inside could get out and help her with her things. He should know by now that she did not respond to rudeness.

As she was thinking it the driver killed the engine and opened the door. One huge boot hit the pavement and then another came down. A hand reached up and grabbed the door and slowly a tuft of black hair came into view.

"Of course they would send him," Cat rolled her eyes and stepped around Colin's arm.

"_That's _you're ride?" Colin and his friends were all gawking at the car and the huge ominous man standing in front of it.

"Yeah," Cat walked forward and held her bags out for Alucard.

He looked down at them, "What do you want me to do with those?"

"Don't be a jerk. You've been avoiding me for a week. The least you could do is take my bag and put them in the trunk," Cat pushed the bags into his stomach.

He rolled his eyes while he took them and the trunk popped opened.

Cat turned around to tell Colin goodbye.

"So who is that guy?" he stepped a little closer like she still needed protection from the crazy driver.

"Uh," Cat froze. She did not ever expect anyone to ask about Alucard. "Well, I live with my cousin…and he's sort of…a body guard. Not really a body guard but he works for her. They're in the armed forces business…sort of." She took a deep breath and waited.

"Oh. Yeah he looks like he could kill someone just by looking at them," Colin looked warily at Alucard as he stuffed the computer in the trunk.

"Ha-ha! Yeah he sure does!" Cat felt on edge and wanted to leave badly.

"Are you done yet?" she jumped at the sound of Alucard standing inches from her.

"Yeah I guess so," she looked at Colin apologetically.

"So what's you're answer for the party?" he looked at her seriously. She could tell he did want her to go.

"You've been invited to a children's party. How interesting," he smiled maliciously.

"Come on now it isn't a children's party. My parents are away its going to be really great. Won't you please come Cat? You're invited too Cat's body guard," he smiled at Alucard and Cat wished he would stop.

"Yes do go Katherine. It could be so much fun," he leered down at her.

"Are you going to go with me?" she doubted he would, unless it was to do something terrible.

"I may stop by for a while if I am not too busy. Now let's leave before that thing you have dies," he turned around and got in the car.

"Oh I almost forgot about my fish," Cat gave the bag a poke to make sure he was still alright.

"So you're going to come then?" Colin smiled encouragingly.

"Yes I suppose I am," Cat gave up being anti-social. It was becoming harder than just being social.

"Great let me give you the address," he turned to one of the girls and asked for some paper and pen and wrote down the address.

"What time should I be there?" Cat reached to take the address but Colin held on to it for a moment.

"The party starts at eight but if you want to get there a little earlier you can and we can hang out or something," he let go of the paper when he was done.

"Yeah…okay. I'll see you then, bye," she turned around and rushed to the other side of the car. It was getting too awkward for her liking.

She had barley closed the door when Alucard slammed on the gas. She was thrown back into the seat and almost dropped her fish.

"You could at least wait until I have my seat belt on!" she struggled with the seat belt while he took another hair pin turn.

"You don't need a seat belt I'm an excellent driver," he blew through a stop sign and wove in and out of cars as he entered the high way.

"I didn't even know you could drive," Cat pulled the seatbelt tight and cradled her fish in both her arms.

"Of course I can. Do you think that after being alive for so long I would never get curious about cars. I was around when they invented them. I was skeptical at first about how humans would handle them and I was right to be. You are all horrible drivers," he sped across four lanes of traffic and went down a vacant road.

"Where in the world are you going," Cat had not paid attention to the way the driver had taken her but she knew they had not gone this way.

"It's a short cut," he chortled under his breath.

Cat shut her eyes as he sped around a turn. The road they were on was canopied in trees. She could see the sun flickering behind them. She sat up a little more in her seat. The ride was not as bad when they were only going straight. It felt kind of like flying.

"That boy likes you," she looked over at him but he was looking straight.

"How do you know that," she knew, but she wanted him to say it.

He only chuckled.

"He was just being nice," she could see where the trees ended but beyond that it was too bright. They were coming up to the opening fast and Cat wondered if Alucard could see anything. A normal person would slow down just in case a car was coming or maybe a turn, but Alucard was not worried about car crashes. It would probably not hurt him that much.

When they reached the opening Cat was blinded by the sun. She shut her eyes tight against it and listened for screeching tires and screams.

"It's fine," Alucard shifted the gears and drove faster.

Cat opened her eyes and gasped. The sun was setting on the horizon and the clouds around it were all brilliantly colored. They went from bright yellow and deep orange into dark red and pink and purple on the edges.

"It's so beautiful!" she sat all the way up now, the fear of getting into a crash leaving her for good.

"It always looks like that," Alucard lightly turned the wheel and followed the gentle curve of the road.

"Come on, you never see it like that in the city. There's too much smog. I wish I had a camera," she decided she would go shopping again very soon and get a good one. She had always loved taking pictures but never had anything more than a disposable.

Cat stared at the sunset for as long as the road would allow. She was sad when they took another hair pin turned and drove away from it.

After about five more minutes of driving on the deserted road Alucard took another sharp turn and Cat found herself looking out at the street in front of Hellsing mansion.

"How did we even get to here…," she looked back towards where they had come from but she could barley see the little road.

Alucard pulled up the drive way and Cat could see Walter waiting at the front door. He parked the car next to the front steps and they got out.

"Good evening Miss Cat, I hope you had a lovely afternoon out," Walter said as he opened her door.

"I did have a nice afternoon thank you Walter. I got this fish for the fish tank down the hall from the soldier's hallway," she held up the fish for him to see.

"Oh that old tank, it's going to need quite a bit of cleaning up," Walter walked to the other side of the car to get in and put it away.

"What…but I," she thought better of telling him what she had seen.

"Can you manage these?" Alucard pushed her computer and CDs into her arms without waiting for an answer and slammed the truck. Walter drove off quite a bit slower than Alucard had.

"Yeah sure," she stared after the car and wondered if Walter was tricking her.

"Walter does not play tricks," she turned around to ask him if he knew about the fish tank but he was already gone.

"No! But you do!" she yelled into the air hoping he would hear her and feeling quite sure he would.

Cat walked up the steps and went into the mansion. She made her way up to her room and set her bags down then proceeded down the hall towards the fish tank. She hoped very hard that it would still be in the same condition she had last seen it in. She thought to herself that it might have been a trick Alucard played on her so she would only think it was clean when in fact it was only a dried out shell. The thought of not having any place for her fish caused her to start running.

"You need a name don't you fish?" she held him up in front of her as she jogged and watched him bob gently up and down. "You're very fat and very grumpy looking. You remind me of a character from one of my favorite movies. He is a big fat cat who talks and he is always eating and always being grouchy. His name is Muta. I think I'll call you that."

She turned down the hall that led to the fish tank and ran faster. Once she got about thirty feet away she was relieved to find it still intact.

She opened the top of the tank and stuck her hand in to be sure it was not a mirage and then she plunked Muta into the water and sat down to wait for him to adjust. The woman had told her to wait five minutes so Cat waited ten just to be careful. While she was waiting she noticed there was a bottle of fish food next to the tank. She picked it up and was relieved to find it was full of flakes. This was very lucky because she had neglected to get any in the pet store. After ten minutes she tore a hole opened in the bag and dumped Muta into the water. He sunk down to the bottom then floated up towards the middle. At first Cat thought he would only float there and be as morose as he was in the pet store but soon he started swimming all around the tank almost happily.

"That's all you needed Muta isn't it? You just wanted your own place. You don't like other fish getting in your way. You're like someone else I know," Cat sprinkled in a little bit of fish food and watched as Muta gobbled it up. After he was finished she went back down the hall to her room.

It was only around eight o'clock but Cat felt tired. She knew if she went to bed now she would wake up too early and have to wait all day until the party. Then by the time that came around she would be tired again so she forced herself to stay awake. She set to work putting her laptop up on her desk and reading all about the different features. She installed the drivers for the internet and surfed around for a while. She found a site where she could download music and she downloaded a couple new CDs she had been curious about. She also found she could download movies so she set to work downloading one. She had nothing better to do than sit and watch the numbers of the rate it was downloading change so she did that until she felt too tired to hold open her eyes.

Before she crawled into bed she realized she had not eaten dinner but she felt too tired to bother getting anything.

"I'll just eat a lot of breakfast," she yawned and collapsed on the pillows.

Down the hall and back to where Muta was swimming around in his tank Alucard phased through a wall to look at him. He watched the fish for a while as it swam back and forth. He tapped the glass a couple of times and watched as Muta fearlessly swam into the glass to get at his finger.

"Humans will never get over their power to cage things and greedily keep them for themselves. I know how you feel fish," he gave the glass one last small tap and phased down through the floor.

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	29. Iscariot

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**Iscariot**

Cat woke up to the toll of church bells at around twelve o'clock. Her head was sore from too much sleep and the sun was shining brightly into her window, for she had forgotten to close the curtains. She lazily kicked off the covers and scooted to the edge of the bed. She laid there looking out the window for a while trying to decide what to do. She had had good days and bad days ever since her parents left her and today was a bad day. She felt lonely despite the house full of people and she felt unwanted despite the invite to the party.

Finally after almost a full hour of watching the clouds go by she pulled herself up out of bed and set to getting dressed. She went to the armoire and took her white dress out from between the other beautiful gowns inside. She wondered if she would ever get a chance to wear any of them. When she had opened the armoire and discovered them Integra informed her that they were hers as a girl. Cat had tried a few of them on when no one was around and found that they fit perfectly.

After she was dressed she went into the bathroom and decided to just get completely ready. She combed out her hair and decided to leave it in the loose curls it always had in the morning. She pulled half of it up with a clip and pulled two chunks out to hang on either side of her face. She thought about putting on makeup, but then chose not to. She was probably already over dressed, but at least she would look nice. If this boy was having a party with his parents out of town he was most likely well to do. This meant that his friends had well to do parents and they would all appreciate nice things.

Cat looked at the clock and sighed. It was only 1:30 and time felt like it was inching by. She wondered how early Colin had wanted her to come. Surely now was too early but maybe six o'clock would not be. She decided to pass some more time she would take a shower so she striped back out of her clothes and took down her hair and got in. She wanted to just lie down and go to sleep in the spray of the warm water, but being found drowned in the shower was too degrading.

After she was done she got dressed again and dried and put up her hair. She went down the hall to check on Muta and give him some food then she headed off towards the library. She wanted to find out something about how the Hellsings came upon Alucard, but she had not had time. She wondered if it was a really big secret that he could not know about or if it was just some lame story about how he was a good vampire and wanted to work for them. She wondered how old he was and how he became a vampire. She thought that it would be fine to ask him, but he would probably ignore her. He of all things should not be put off by a bold question, but every vampire had been human once so maybe he still had those kinds of feelings about certain things.

When she got to the library she peeked in and was sorry to see Walter. She loved him very dearly, but she did not think he should know she was sneaking about and looking for information about Alucard. She did not like anyone around when she was reading either, it made her feel obligated to talk to them. She thought that sitting in the foyer would be a bit pathetic, but she could not think of anything else to do so she headed down the grand stair case.

She looked at the large grandfather clock across from the front door and was disappointed it was just barley reaching three o'clock. She sat down on the cushioned bench and stared at the door.

Maybe if she stared hard enough someone would knock on it. She wondered if Integra ever had visitors. Since she had been here no one had come. No friends or relatives, not even anyone from the protestant knights she had heard about. They probably did all of their meetings on the phone unless it was something terribly important. The front door must be lonely never having anyone coming through it. The entire house was lonely. She decided that at four o'clock she would go and get Alucard. Maybe she could get him to tell her an interesting story.

She laid her head down on the bench and closed her eyes. She sang ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall in her head. She always fell asleep before she finished.

She snapped awake at 4:30 to the sound of a truck loudly honking as it drove by.

She got up and headed to the freezer to get a couple of blood packs. It was a bad idea to wake him up without feeding him and if she was sweet maybe he would be more obliged to tell her a story. She headed down to the basement and slowly pulled the heavy doors opened and peeked inside. She could never tell if he was in there or not until she got all the way to his coffin. Even then she was never sure if he was there when it was closed.

She carefully stepped down the stairs and shuffled her way towards where the coffin hovered a few feet from the ground.

"Alucard?" she tested.

No answer.

"Alucard are you in there?" she put her ear up to the coffin to see if she could hear anything.

Still no answer.

"Alucard answer me if you're in there please," she rapped her fist on the hard wood of the coffin, but no one answered her.

She gave up and carried the blood back to the freezer and headed for Integra's office.

She could hear Integra on the phone so she just went inside. Integra jumped a bit when she saw Cat and she brought her finger to her lips quickly.

Cat quietly walked to the chair and sat down to listen.

"I just don't understand where you got this information from," she paused to listen. "Yes you've said it was a sighting, but exactly who sighted it?" she rolled her eyes. "You get your information from members of the paparazzi? Don't you think that's a bit pathetic?"

Cat wondered what was going on. She thought perhaps they were referring to Alucard. Maybe someone from the news paper saw him doing something weird.

"No I am not avoiding the question I've told you already we are not hiding anything!" Integra started to flush. "What in the world would we be doing with a sixteen year old girl!?" "Yes I know very well what you _think _we would do with one but that is not the case." "There is no case at all! We do not have a girl here!" "Your witty jokes do not amuse me Maxwell." "You will do no such thing! Do you understand me! If you come within fifty miles of this house I will set my entire army on you!" she slammed the phone back on the receiver.

"So…am I a secret?" Cat did not think it mattered if she stayed here. It was not as though she was being used as some sort of weapon.

"No that is not the problem. They think that you are a vampire created by Alucard," Integra rubbed her eyes and slouched in her chair. Cat had never seen her look so frustrated.

"Well why didn't you just tell them who I really am instead of saying no one was here," she wondered if Integra was embarrassed to have her here.

"The Iscariots knew your parents as well. They originally wanted to employ them, but your parents chose to come here instead. They did not agree with the way Iscariot operated. The Iscariots always held a grudge for them after that. I don't think it would be wise to tell them we have their daughter here. They may try to persuade you to join the other side," Integra pulled out a piece of paper and began writing a letter.

"But you know I would never leave here, no matter how enticing they could try and be I love it here. I love everything about this place and what you do. I love all the soldiers and I love you and Walter. I love Alu…," she stopped and her eyes widened at what she had been about to say.

Integra laughed heartily, something Cat had not been expecting, "Well is that so? Even then it would be unwise to let them know. We try and keep them away from here as much as possible. There is a treaty we have with them, they protect their side we take care of ours, but of course they find ways to get over here and nose in our business. Did you need something?"

"Do you know where Alucard is? I want to hang out with him before the party. I want him to go too," she twiddled her thumbs.

"You want to…hang out with him? That is the first time I have heard that in a very long time," she signed the bottom of the letter and folded it up.

"Yeah, I'm just kind of nervous about going alone. He was invited too you know," Cat relaxed in the chair a bit. "Who are you writing to?"

"The Queen, I'm warning her that Iscariot may be visiting soon," she put the letter in an envelope and stamped it with the Hellsing coat of arms.

"Do you think they'll still come here even after you told him there wasn't anything going on? That's not very friendly," Cat thought that Catholics were supposed to be good people.

"No, it is not friendly at all, but they will come, perhaps in a month or so. Things are slow now so they have no excuse to check up on us, but if there are any out breaks of freaks they will use that as an excuse. You will be meeting them all too soon in my opinion," she licked the envelope closed and put it in the out box on her desk.

"So do you know where Alucard is?" it was nearing five and Cat wanted to find him soon. She hoped he was not hiding.

"Did you check his coffin?"

"Yes."

"Did you check the library?"

"No, I didn't know he used the library."

"Oh yes, check the library," Integra went back to working on the computer.

Cat got up and went to the library. Just as Integra had assumed he was there. He was sitting in one of the plump leather couches with a very large leather and gold leaf bound book opened in his lap.

Cat walked up to him, "What are you reading?"

"The book of your God," he flipped the page.

"The Bible! Why on earth would you want to read that?" she sat down next to him.

"It is very interesting and I like to have a laugh once in a while," he flipped another page and smiled. "Have you ever read it?"

"No. I don't think I believe in God," Cat sat back farther on the couch and bounced her feet up and down.

"Is that so?" he turned another page and held the book up straight.

"Yes, I don't think I have ever had or seen a reason to believe in him. I've never seen God, nothing wonderful has ever happened to me, my prayers have never been answered. So no, I do not believe there is a man in the heavens who watches over anyone or judges where they should go when they die," she slumped back in the seat and looked at the large wrinkled pages. The words were not in English.

"I see," he turned another page.

"Do you believe in God?" she thought it was a funny question to be asking a vampire.

"Of course. In many of them," he flipped a big chunk of pages at once.

"Do you believe in their God?" Cat decided that the other Gods he believed in would make a good conversation for later.

"No, not in their God," he continued to stare at the page as he talked. Cat figured he must be able to read at the same time.

"Read me something," she saw him look over at her, but she kept her face forward.

"What would you hear?" he began flipping through the pages searching.

"Something interesting," she doubted anything in there could interest her.

"Very well then," he turned to nearly the back of the book and began, "Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude."

"Iscariot?" Cat wondered if it was a coincidence.

"Iscariot indeed," he snapped the book shut. "Come, we will go to your party."

Cat looked up and saw it was seven o'clock. Time had flown by impossibly fast. "You're really going to go?"

"It would be rude to not show up after I was invited," he stood up and looked down at her with a grin that spread widely across his face.

"Okay, but I don't want you to drive," she got up and led the way out of the library and down stairs. A car was already waiting out front and Cat and Alucard got in.

"Where to Miss?" it was the driver from yesterday.

Cat pulled the piece of paper with the address of the party out of her shoe and handed it to the driver.

"Ah my granddaughter is going to that party tonight. Do you mind if we stop by and take her? She'll be glad to meet you," the driver turned around and smiled.

"Of course. Is your sister okay?" Cat buckled her seat belt and got comfortable for the long ride across town.

"Oh yes she's feeling much better. She's going home today, I think she'll be much more comfortable there," he pulled out onto the road running up the curb a bit.

"And you didn't want me to drive," Alucard scoffed.

"Does Integra know you're going with me?" Cat did not know what the rules for Alucard were. From what she had seen there were not many.

"She will put two and two together," Alucard had left his large coat behind, but still wore his hat. He pulled it down over his eyes.

Cat watched the sun set out the window. She hoped the party would be fun, she was not much for dancing or socializing, but maybe his house would be big enough that she could get away from all of that. She wondered why Alucard was interested in going. It was not as though he enjoyed talking to other people. She was pretty sure there were very few things he did enjoy. She could think of one thing he did enjoy doing, but he must know better than to do that without permission or in such a public gathering. She absently touched her thigh.

"Here we are Miss," Cat looked up and saw they were pulling into a gated neighborhood. "I'll just run inside and get her and then we'll be off to your party."

"Okay, please take your time," Cat was not all that excited to get to the party soon. She liked the car rides to places more than she liked the actual destinations.

The driver got out and went up to the house. He entered without knocking.

"Alucard, why are you going to the party?" Cat was sure he would lie, but she could not help asking.

"I am supposed to keep an eye on you. You never know when Iscariot could come and try to kidnap you. This party would be a perfect place for them to rush in and swipe you with no one knowing."

"You're lying; you said Integra would figure out where you've gone. This means she doesn't know you've gone. Which means she did not tell you to keep an eye on me," Cat wondered if the party was a decoy and he was really planning on going somewhere else.

"I do not need Integra to order me to keep an eye out for you. Don't you think I care about your safety, Katherine?" he peeked out from under his hat to look at her.

"No, of course not," she touched her thigh again.

"You learn very fast. You're much smarter than the other teenage girls I have encountered though the years," he went back to pretending to nap.

"Just don't do anything that you know Sir Integra would tell you not to," she looked over at him when he laughed much too happily. "I mean it Alucard."

The driver, whose name was Edgar, was coming out of the house with his granddaughter now. Cat watched as her mother smiled at her and waved goodbye from the door. As they came toward the car the girl began walking towards Alucard's side, but Edgar quickly took her arm and led her to the other side. Cat took off her seat belt and slid to the middle next to Alucard. She supposed the driver was too wary to have his granddaughter sit next to him. He held the door opened for her and she got in. She began to smile at Cat, but her attention was caught no doubt by Alucard's bright red hat and her face dropped.

She faltered for a moment and then pulled herself together and smiled again, "Hi, my name is Krissy."

"I'm Cat, it's nice to meet you. You're grandfather speaks fondly of you," she smiled at the girl reassuringly.

"Don't forget your seatbelt Kissy," Edgar pulled out of the driveway and back through the neighborhood gate.

"Grandpa I told you not to call me that around other people!" Krissy looked more embarrassed than Cat thought she would be. She thought it was nice that he had a nickname for her.

Edgar only chuckled and turned on the radio.

"I like your dress Cat it's really pretty," Krissy sat with her back leaning part way against the door. Cat guessed she was trying to keep herself as far from Alucard as she could.

"Oh thank you, Alucard picked it out. This, by the way, is Alucard," she leaned forward and pulled his hat up so Krissy could see him better. Cat thought that he did not look as scary when you could see his face fully.

Alucard was courteous enough to look at Krissy and grunt.

"Um…hi," Krissy tried smiling but it came out more like a grimace.

"Nice, Alucard," she smashed the hat back over his face.

"So who invited you to the party?" Krissy looked eager to forget that Alucard was in the car.

"Colin did, he told me to come early, but I thought that was kind of weird," Cat felt comfortable with Krissy. She did not seem as artificial as some of the other girls Cat had met.

"Oh yeah I think I heard him mention you," she giggled a little and covered her mouth.

"You've got to be kidding," Cat sighed.

"Nope, and do you know who else has mentioned you?" she started to giggle even more.

"Who? I barley ever go out who could you know that I know?" Cat was suspicious. She did not like people talking about her even if it was good.

"Lucian," Krissy had gone into a fit now, holding her stomach and letting her hair fall into her face so she could hide the fact that it was turning red.

"How in the world do you know Lucian?" Cat had scooted away from her as if being close would cause more unnecessary information to spill from her lips.

"He's my brother silly. You really didn't know? I thought grandpa would have told you by now. He's just as big a gossip as I am," she took a deep breath and straightened up.

"No I didn't. Well, what does he say? He must not talk about me that much you're exaggerating," Cat felt her cheeks turning pink.

Krissy could not keep composed any longer. She burst out laughing, "He doesn't stop going on about you! Ever since you showed up it's been non stop! He's completely smitten," she was smiling from ear to ear.

Cat heard Alucard snicker. "Oh, stop telling me about it! It's embarrassing," she could not imagine facing Lucian now after knowing all of this.

"He's going to be at the party you know," she looked very pleased with herself. Cat was sure Lucian would hear all about this car ride and how she had reacted.

"I think I'll just stay in the car when you all get out," Cat slumped down against Alucard. She heard him grumble, but she did not care. The middle seat did not have anything to lean against.

"Oh come on Cat, I won't tell him that I told you. He would be too mortified. He's very shy," she smiled like she meant it.

"Yes I've noticed. It isn't that I don't like him Krissy. I do very much, but I've never thought of boys that way. None of them were ever nice to me before now. I'm not sure I'm ready for anything like that," in times like these, Cat wished more than ever that her mother had been around. She considered for a moment to ask Integra for advice, but quickly realized that she had not had a mother either.

"That's good to hear. Lucian was always very strange and my mother and I are very relieved for him to be interested in something normal. From the way he describes you my mother is already fond of you. We all are Cat, despite what you may think you're very popular," she looked out the window dreamily.

"But I haven't even gone out with anyone. I don't go out at all," Cat looked at her curiously.

"Perhaps not but once is enough. Word travels very quickly between us all," she looked at Cat and smiled.

"Us?" Cat was starting to feel like she was being dragged into a cult.

"The kids that live around here. Most of our parents are in the army or some kind of Special Forces unit like Lucian with Hellsing, and you of course. Our parents are gone most of the time so we all stick together. We've kind of made our own little community," she went back to looking out the window.

"Right…," Cat gave up on personal space and rested her cheek on Alucard's arm. He was so much taller than her she did not even need to bend her head. She closed her eyes and soon had fallen asleep to the gentle sway of the car.

The next thing she knew Krissy was shaking her awake, "Cat wake up we're there."

Cat looked around groggily. She was glad she had not bothered to wear makeup or she would have looked a mess, "Where is Alucard?"

"As soon as we stopped he set you upright and got out. I'm not sure which way he went, but come on! A lot of people are already here. You slept through all the traffic we hit it's nearly eight o'clock.

"Okay okay I'm coming," Cat clambered out of the car and waved to Edgar as he pulled away.

"So what do you want to do first?" Krissy locked her arm in Cat's and led them towards the front doors.

"I don't know, I think I should go find Alucard," Cat looked around at the trees warily.

"Oh don't be a party pooper Cat he can take care of himself!" she pulled Cat up the steps and knocked on the door.

Just before it opened Cat heard someone scream.

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	30. Robbers, Pirates, or Something Else?

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**Robbers, Pirates, or Something Else?**

Cat shoved the door opened not bothering to notice who had come to answer it. She rushed into the middle of the large foyer frantically looking around. She heard the scream again and ran down the hall to what looked like the living room. She reached towards her thigh but stopped abruptly. A girl was being tickled by a boy on the couch and she was screaming loudly. Cat stood in the middle of the room staring at them and trying to catch her breath.

"Cat! Cat what is the matter with you!?" Krissy came running up behind her and spun her around. Her face softened when she saw Cat's, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine I just thought…never mind. I'm sorry," she clutched at her thigh again.

"Does your leg hurt? You keep holding it," Krissy bent over to look.

"What? Oh…no it's fine I think I just bumped it," she clasped her hands in front of her.

"So what do you want to do first! Do you want to go dance? Or we could go get a drink do you want a drink?" Cat was put off by her giddiness. Maybe she could say a quick hello to Colin and then find Alucard and leave.

"I'm going to go find a bathroom. I'll find you in a little bit okay?" she started stepping away towards the stairs.

"Well okay, are you sure you're aright? Do you want me to come with you?" Krissy moved towards Cat again.

"No it's okay really. You go and have fun," Cat turned and went quickly up the stairs. She sneaked into a few rooms until she found one with a balcony. The room was very dark and she crept to the other side where the glass doors led outside. She started to pull the curtains back.

"Hey," she jumped at the sound of the voice. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

Cat turned around but could only see the shadow of the voice on a couch, "Who is it." Her hand began to creep slowly back to her thigh.

"It's Colin," he stood up and came closer to the door so the light from the failing sun reached his face.

"Oh, what are you doing in here," she opened the curtains the rest of the way and slid the door aside.

"Ha-ha it's my house. The question is what are you doing in here?" he followed her out to the balcony.

"Getting away from all of that noise down stairs," she looked out over the balcony. Colin's yard was full of various gardens connected by walk ways and little ponds and streams. Behind all of that was a much bigger pond that had a little row boat floating in it. The setting sun sent sparkles dancing across the ponds and Cat saw the paths had reflective stone set into them. The entire yard looked like it had dressed up in glamorous jewelry for the party.

"Lovely isn't it?" Colin leaned against the balcony wall next to her.

"Yes, it is. So why are you up here? Other than it being your house and all that?" Cat smiled at him and wrinkled her nose.

"The same reason you are. Someone invited some older guys that I've never seen before. They brought a lot of alcohol. It isn't that I don't drink, but they're really over doing it. I'm for a more tasteful cocktail hour," he frowned out at the yard.

"Can't you just tell them to leave? It's your house remember," she heard a loud noise down stairs like someone was tipping things over.

"I don't want to be rude," he dropped his head down.

"Do you not want to be rude or are you afraid they'll do something if you tell them to go?" Cat already knew the answer.

"Yeah they're kind of a rough group. Everyone else is having fun though so it's okay. Do you want to go down to the lake? We can float around in the boat," he stood up straight.

"I guess so, but how are we going to get passed everyone?" Cat did not want to go back down stairs. She was sure Krissy would see her and drag her into the middle of things. Lucian was down there as well.

"Easy. We take the short cut," he walked to the corner of the balcony and threw one leg over and then the other.

"What are you doing! You can't jump we're like thirty feet up!" Cat ran to the edge ready to grab him if he fell.

"Calm down haven't you ever watched a movie? We can climb down the terrace. Nothing has grown on it yet so it will be fine," he started descending down the terrace with sure footing. Cat knew he had done it before. Most likely many times.

"Wait! You can't go first I'm wearing a dress!" going to the lake was beginning to seem less and less like a good idea.

"Oh come on Cat I won't look. I'm almost to the bottom," he hopped down the last few feet and stumbled backwards. "Just put one leg over then the other."

"I know how to climb down a terrace thanks. Back up some I don't trust you," she sat down on the edge of the balcony and swung both of her legs over at once so she did not have to straddle it.

"Nice technique, but if I'm so far back how am I going to catch you if you fall," he held out his arms jokingly.

"I'm not going to fall don't be a pessimist," she began climbing down the terrace and found it was just like a ladder.

"What's on your leg?"

"I told you not to look!" she was about three quarters of the way down and she turned around too quickly to glare at him. Her hands slipped off the terrace and her foot caught in one of the wooden squares causing her to fall backwards. She gasped and closed her eyes, ready to hit the ground.

Colin rushed underneath her and caught her by her shoulders and under her legs. He stumbled backwards a few feet and then toppled to the ground.

"Oh my god! Are you okay Colin!?" Cat quickly got off of him and started feeling his arms and legs to make sure nothing was broken.

He brushed her away from him and stood up, "Yeah I'm fine, are _you _okay?"

"I'm okay," she looked at him for a second and then burst out laughing.

"What's so funny!" he could not help smiling.

"I was so scared! I thought for sure I would hit the ground and it would all be over!" she doubled over holding her stomach.

"I told you I would catch you if you fell," he started laughing as well.

"Well I wouldn't have fallen if you hadn't been looking up my dress!" she stood back up and smacked him in the arm.

"I swear I wasn't! The wind made your dress stick to your leg and I could see whatever that thing is underneath," he rubbed the tears from laughing out of his eyes. "What is it anyway?"

"It's nothing. Just something I need," she started towards the lake.

"You can tell me you know. I won't make fun of you or tell anyone," he jogged to catch up with her.

"It's my gun. For a 'just in case' event," she dropped back so he could lead the way to the lake. From the ground it was much harder to tell where it was.

"What do you think is going to happen? Robbers? Pirates maybe since we're going boating," he laughed at himself

"I would hardly call that little dingy a boat," Cat liked to jeer Colin.

"Yeah yeah just come on. I can't stand to listen to anything else get broken," he cut off the path and ducked under some tree limbs.

"What are you going to do about all of it? Won't your parents be mad?" she stumbled out of the trees he had gone though and found herself in front of the lake. He was pulling the little boat in by a very long reed covered rope.

"I'll have everything fixed by the time they get home. I always do," he let the boat glide a little way to shore then jerked it up onto the sand. "Hop in," he gestured to the boat in that butler like way.

"Is it safe? I can swim, but…I wouldn't want to fall in that water. Who knows what's down there," she made a dramatic face like she was very skeptical.

"Oh come on! There isn't anything down there and the boat is fine. It doesn't even look old," he tapped the side of it with his boot and smiled as some crud fell off of it.

"Alright but if anything bad happens it's your fault," she stepped carefully into the boat and sat down on the rear bench.

Colin put one foot into the boat and shoved hard against the sandy shore with the other. He sat down quickly, facing Cat, as the boat drifted out to the middle of the lake.

"You know there aren't any oars right?" she wondered if he had done this on purpose.

"We don't need oars we just pull the rope to get in," he dumped the rest of the slack rope into the lake so they could drift out farther away from the party.

"Oh, right," Cat looked up at the sky. The moon was plump and still slightly orange. It hung low in the sky, avoiding the clouds that were being blown around by the wind. Cat thought it was unusually cool out for the beginning of June.

"What are you thinking about?" Colin had sat down in the bottom of the boat and was leaning against the side.

"I don't know. Nothing I suppose. It's nice out and the moon looks pretty," she watched the tops of the trees shake as they were hit by a gust of wind. They made an old creaking sound like brittle bones bending and complaining.

"Can I ask you a question?" Colin looked at Cat trying to read her expression.

"Shoot," she was afraid of what might be coming.

"Do you like me? At all?" Colin looked down at his knees waiting for an answer.

Cat was a little shell shocked by the bluntness of the question but she gave it a few seconds of deep thought before she replied with a very serious and heart felt answer, "I'm don't really know."

"What do you mean you don't know!" Colin looked up at her appalled. He would have loved a yes, he was quite prepared for a no, but neither was completely ridiculous.

"I suppose I do like you. I did almost kill myself to come out in this boat with you after all. But I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it," she rested her cheek on her hand and sighed.

"You girls make everything so complicated," he rested his cheek on his hand as well and pouted.

"We do no such thing. You boys are just big whiney babies. You have to have everything your way and when it isn't you fuss and pout until it is and you never change. Grown men are no better," she nudged him with her foot so he would know she was only kidding. Even though every word was true.

"I suppose you're talking about Alucard when you say that? Tell me Cat, do you like him?" he pulled himself up on the bench so he could look her in the face.

Cat thought very hard about it, "I do like Alucard. But in a different way than you and Lucian. I'm not really sure how to explain it I'm not used to this kind of thing." She noticed he was gaping at her, "What? You're shocked I actually admitted I like him? It isn't in some sort of weird way Colin! Don't go about telling people that."

"Lucian? You like Lucian? Of all people him!" Colin planted his face into his hands and shook his head.

"What's wrong with Lucian? He's really nice," Cat could never figure out why boys did not like other boys who were considered nice by girls.

"Yeah he's _nice _and a total wimp. What is it with girls liking guys like that?" he looked very bummed.

"Lucian is not a wimp! He works for the Special Forces unit of Hellsing. He deals with more dangerous things everyday than you'll ever see in your life so top being a jerk!" she could feel her face turning red with frustration.

"Sorry, I didn't know you felt that strongly about him," he turned to the side and looked away from her.

"Stop being like that I don't feel strongly for him. I just don't like it when someone picks on someone else when they aren't around to defend themselves. It isn't fair," she leaned to the side to get his attention, but he just turned further away. "Colin don't be mad at me," Cat was not sure how to deal with boys when they were like this. She thought about how she would deal with someone like Krissy if they became upset with her. She slid off her bench and kneeled in front of him, "Please don't be mad?" She sat up and put her hand on his shoulder, "I can't be stuck in the middle of a lake with someone who isn't talking to me. Please Colin, what do you want me to do?"

He turned back towards her, "Would you kiss me?"

"WHAT!" Cat nearly fell backwards with shock.

"It's only a question. Would you?" he stared at her intensely and she felt the urge to jump from the boat and sink to the bottom of the lake.

Cat had never kissed anyone and she was not sure why he was bothering to ask. She thought it was supposed to be a consensual thing by both parties.

"Well?" she realized he was still staring and waiting.

"Do you really want me to?" this was it. He was going to say yes and then he would find out how pathetic she really was.

"I do," he took her by the shoulders and leaned in closing his eyes.

Cat kept hers opened. She wanted to make sure there were no surprises. Just before his lips reached hers the house behind them exploded with screams. Both Colin and Cat jumped up at the sound and nearly tipped the boat over.

"What's going on!" Cat was suspecting the worst. She wished more than ever that she knew where Alucard was.

"I don't know maybe someone's just acting up again," he stood carefully on the bench of the boat trying to see past the gardens. The screams continued and began growing louder and more terrifying.

"Something's wrong Colin," Cat could feel the tightness in her stomach. The feeling was familiar and she knew what it was associated with.

"I'm sure it's nothing Cat. They're just getting a little too crazy is all," he stepped down from the bench and began to sit. Then there was a loud explosion. The screaming was no longer the sound of over excited girls. Boys were screaming as well and there was another noise.

Cat did not recognize it. It was almost a snarling guttural sound, something that came from deep inside something else very horrible.

"We have to go back," she was becoming anxious and was clutching her gun at her thigh.

"I'm not sure I want to. Why don't we just wait until it blows over?" he began to sit down but Cat grabbed him by the shirt.

"We have to go back Colin! Now! Pull the boat in now!" she could feel the blood rushing away from her face and making her feet and hands tingle unpleasantly.

"Alright! Just calm down," he grabbed the rope and started pulling, but it was not fast enough for Cat.

She dove into the water and started swimming as fast as she could to shore. It was only about thirty feet and she soon felt the soft bottom of the lake beneath her. Seconds after she had jumped in she heard the splash of Colin behind her. He was yelling something, but all she could hear were the screams. After what seemed like only milliseconds she clambered onto the shore and started running through the garden. She ignored the paths and cut straight through the trees and shrubs. Branches pulled at her with their skeletal fingers trying to slow her down. Finally she broke through to the soft stretch of green lawn. Most of the lights in the house had been turned out and she could not see what was happening inside. The strange snarls were now over powering the screams and even cutting some of them off. She shuddered at the thought of it.

She stopped in the middle of the yard and concentrated hard. She thought his name with every ounce of conscious thought she had left in her.

Suddenly she noticed a glint of red in the corner of her eye. She turned towards the woods by the house and saw him. Alucard was swiftly moving towards her. She could not read his expression, but thought he looked more tense than usual. She ran towards him not being able to wait any longer. She did not bother to stop when she got to him. She let herself run into his stomach and grabbed onto the edges of his shirt for comfort.

"What's going on!" she felt like she was on the verge of tears.

He took her by the shoulders and pulled her away and towards the back doors of the house, "There are werewolves inside. Ready your gun."

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Keep it up with the reviews and I'll keep up the speedy updates!


	31. A Better Way of Travel

ENJOY!

**A Better Way of Travel**

Alucard sprinted through the tree tops to find a spot far enough away where he could relax. The sound coming from the children's party was appalling. The noise they called music was booming and they laughed and screamed like wild animals. He finally settled in the crook of two large branches from a great oak tree. He considered going into town to find a snack, but thought better of going too far away. The night was unusually chilly and he could smell foulness on the wind. He had told Katherine to equip her gun before they left and was surprised to find she did not oppose.

He had begun to doze off when he heard the screams of the children. He stayed still for a moment waiting for another sign of danger. Then the wind shifted and he could smell them. Werewolves, at least six of them. He leapt from the tree and sped back towards the house.

Seconds before he reached the clearing he heard her call him. She was such a foolish child. He read her thoughts and saw she was afraid he would be gone, as if he had not realized what was going on before she had. He moved swiftly towards her, keeping his face steady so she would not panic. It did not work and she ran to him in the way a skittish animal runs towards the real danger without noticing. She stumbled into his stomach and he grunted with disgust at her lack of self control.

"What's going on!" she looked like she was going to cry.

"There are werewolves inside. Ready your gun," he pulled her away from him and began towards the house.

"I can't fight werewolves are you crazy!" despite how much she was panicking on the inside Cat continued to let herself be lead to the house.

"Take out your gun and shoot them in the heart," Alucard had already pulled his gun out and was it pointing it at the back door.

Cat got a glimpse of Colin standing stupidly in the middle of the yard staring wide eyed, "Alucard I can't go in there. The only shooting I've done is at targets and vampires that had no idea I was coming! Do you think I could even shoot those if they were aware I was trying?"

"If you wanted to live badly enough you could," they were at the back door now and Alucard slowly opened it and sniffed inside. "They are taking captives. If anyone has been bitten we must shoot them as well."

"Alucard!" Cat had pulled herself away from him now and stood rooted a few feet from the door. "You're being unreasonable. I only have six shots to begin with! And it's completely dark in there," she looked down at her feet and shuffled them.

Alucard grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, "Hold onto my sleeve and walk quietly. It will be brighter once we get to the foyer and you will be able to see. There is nothing that can prepare you for this. I understand how frustrating it must be to be a helpless human, but you must keep your wits about you and think quickly and surely. Mere seconds could decide whether you live or die." He pulled her into the doorway and shut it so she had no choice but to grab onto him and follow.

"Alucard, being human…" Cat was now thinking about his off hand remark.

"SH, they will hear you," he walked forward making no sound at all.

Cat followed obediently behind him. She tried to step carefully for she was sure there must be things all over the floor, but her feet came into contact with nothing. She thought she felt something flit past the side of her face and thought that Alucard must be moving things so she would not trip and give away their position. It suddenly dawned on her what she was about to do. There were werewolves inside this house and as soon as they saw her they would surely attack. She wondered if Krissy was alright and hoped that some of the other kids had escaped. She knew deep down that none of them had. When the lights went back on how many bodies would she see? Would she be able to handle it? They were people she had never met before, but would it matter when they were her age? It would be like seeing herself lying dead and mauled on the ground. She could hear men's voices now. They were muffled but she could tell they were very conversational. They sounded as if they were only in a bar discussing a football game over a few beers.

"Alucard what of Lucian?" Cat had suddenly thought of her dear friend. Had he arrived at the party or was he still on his way?

Alucard stopped abruptly and Cat lightly bumped into him. She stayed very still and listened to the voices. They had stopped. Slowly they began again, but it seemed like there were fewer of them. Alucard started to move forward more quickly now and Cat had to skip a little to keep up. She could see a dim light ahead and thought it must be the foyer. She looked behind her to see how far they had gone and could see the light from outside coming through one of the windows. It was only around twenty feet away. It seemed like they had been walking for ages and Cat sighed audibly without thinking.

"Now I know I heard something!" one of the voices yelled. "Check it out Jax!"

"You are far too relaxed in such a dangerous situation little one," Alucard shifted out of Cat's grasp and disappeared, quickly reappearing in the foyer. His gun went off three times before Cat could run after him.

She was glad to see that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the hall and now that she was in the dim lighting of the foyer she could see very well. Three bodies lay on the floor bleeding and twitching as the last breath of life went out of them.

"To me Katherine," Alucard held his hand out towards her and she ran to his side with her back safely against the front door. "The others have changed. If you stay in this spot you should easily be able to shoot them as they come out of the hall."

"You aren't going somewhere are you? Cat snatched up his sleeve as if it would prevent him from leaving.

"We can not let any of them escape. They may realize they are no match for us and try to leave. Then we will have this same situation in the future. They will make more of their kind and regroup," Alucard began to pull away then stopped.

"What is it?" Cat looked in the direction he was staring.

Krissy stood in an archway on the other side of the foyer. Her eyes were wide and glassy and her clothes tattered and covered in blood.

"Krissy!" Cat ran towards her and threw her arms around her neck. "Are you okay Krissy? Did any of them bite or scratch you?" Krissy only stood staring straight ahead with the same horrified expression. Cat began feeling her arms and shoulders for cuts or bite marks. She moved her hand to Krissy's back and Krissy flinched. Her face remained motionless, but Cat could feel her skin twinge at her touch. She gently turned Krissy and found four long gashes parallel to each other running from between her shoulders and down her back about eight inches.

"Oh Krissy," Cat could feel the tear welling up on the rims of her eyes. She tried to blink them away, but it was no use. They flowed down her face in two hot streams meeting at her chin and dripping to the floor.

"Step aside Katherine," Alucard raised his gun without waiting for her to move.

"Alucard please! There must be something else we can do! Some kind of cure or some way of controlling it! There are good vampires right? There must be good werewolves as well!" Cat frantically tried to think of some way to solve the problem, but she knew nothing of werewolves or even of vampires for that matter. She was not even sure if there were good vampires.

"There is no cure Katherine and there is no such thing as a good monster. Now step aside or be shot as well," Alucard pulled the hammer back on his gun.

Before Cat could step out of the way she heard a vicious growling behind her and Krissy. She realized her gun was still secured to her thigh and she now fumbled with the strap to free it, but it was too late. One of the werewolves rushed at her from behind while the two others came through the hall entrance at Alucard. He turned his gun towards them and shot one down, but the other successfully landed on his chest and bit deep into his shoulder. As Alucard stumbled back onto the ground the werewolf took the opportunity and tore away Alucard's shoulder taking it and his arm with him as he landed back on the floor.

As this happened the other werewolf behind Cat and Krissy stood up on its hind legs and growled menacingly. Cat froze in place, fearful if she moved towards her gun it would lunge and Krissy's fate would befall her as well. The werewolf leered at her and snarled. Its jaws snapped together and saliva dripped down into a puddle on the floor. Cat wondered what was taking Alucard so long to regenerate.

Cat caught movement from the corner of her eye and looked over at Krissy. She had turned towards the werewolf and was now taking slow but steady steps towards him.

"Krissy!" Cat hissed under her breath. She reached out to pull Krissy back, but Krissy slapped her hand away almost viciously.

The werewolf barked out what Cat thought may have been a laugh then spoke in a deep voice that sounded of snarls and grinding knives, "It is too late to save your friend youngling. Why not join her and enjoy a life of power."

Cat could not speak. She looked over in time to see Alucard stand up with his arm finally back on. The other werewolf lay dead on the ground, but Cat could not remember hearing gunfire. Cat's back was against the wall and she felt herself sinking to the floor.

With the way now clear Alucard quickly raised his gun and began to fire. Cat watched as the beast dodged the bullets and threw Krissy over his shoulder. He flew past her and towards the front door. Cat was shocked as Alucard moved out of the way rather than taking the clear shot of the werewolf's heart. He instead shot at it as it ran across the yard, only managing to maim its arm.

Cat could not bring herself to stand so she waited for Alucard to come back inside. He propped opened the door and began flicking all the lights on in the house. Cat looked through the hall archway and could see scattered bodies piled on top of each other and various objects. She closed her eyes tight and pushed herself off the ground.

"Are you unharmed?" Alucard re-holstered his gun and looked at Cat.

"Yes I'm fine," she rubbed her arms up and down to show there were no scratches. She wanted to be sure that Alucard would not think she was lying so as not to be shot. "Where is Lucian?" Cat was still worried and she had not yet remembered Colin was still in the yard.

"He arrived after the attack began and quickly went back to Hellsing to alert Sir Integra. They are both on their way now to be sure everything is alright," Alucard turned and walked towards the door to wait outside.

Cat trailed after him wanting desperately to get away from all the death. Then she remembered something, "Alucard?"

"Yes?" he stood at the bottom of the stairs with his arms crossed looking for Integra's car.

"When that werewolf was coming towards you, you moved out of the way and shot him from behind. You could have easily shot him dead in the heart; you were in the perfect place to do it. Why didn't you?" Cat had tried to think of an answer for herself but she could not imagine what would cause him to do it.

"The bullet would have gone threw his heart and then into your skull," he remained motionless as a stone statue.

"Oh. Since when do you care if I get shot? I thought you only cared about getting the job done," Cat no longer needed to know Alucard's reason, but she was having fun prying.

"Do you ever stop talking?" he began to walk away from her and down the driveway.

Cat thought she saw the corners of his mouth twitch a little, "You've grown fond of me haven't you!" She skipped along beside him completely forgetting the terrors she had just faced.

Alucard walked a bit faster to get away from her nagging, but said nothing.

"You have I know it. You've grown fond of me and if I died you would feel bad _especially _if you were the one to do it," Cat smiled and held onto his sleeve so he could not get farther away from her.

"If you die on my watch I will be locked in the basement for a month with no food. That is the only reason I do not kill you myself and do not forget that. As soon as you are old enough to take care of yourself I will no longer be held responsible for you and you can go off and be killed as quickly as you like for all I care," he stopped and swatted her hand away and glared down at her.

"I'm sure that is the reason," she patted his arm condescendingly, "Whatever makes you feel tough and emotionless, Alucard." She snickered and skipped down to the end of the driveway. She could see Integra's car turning the corner down the street. It was going much faster than usual and she thought she could see Walter in the driver's seat.

"Better get out of the way," Alucard stepped onto the grass, "Walter is a terrible driver."

"He can't be worse than you," she narrowed her eyes at him, but stepped to the grass just the same.

Walter did not slow the car down as he turned into the driveway and the wheels made an awful squealing sound. He slammed on the breaks and before he had completely stopped the door flew opened and Lucian tumbled out in a run and rushed straight to Cat. She braced herself and for good reason. He plowed straight into her grabbing her around her shoulders and lifting her in the air in a bone crunching hug.

"I was sure you were going to be dog food by the time we got here!" he buried his face into her shoulder and shook her lightly back and forth.

"Well thanks a lot! Don't you think I'm tougher than that Lucian?" her arms were pinned to her sides so she laid her cheek on the side of his head. It was touching how worried he had been about her but she wished he would let go. She could hear Alucard snickering.

"Enough of that Lucian," Integra stepped out of the car, "Go inside and get me a body count."

Lucian gave Cat one last squeeze and then trotted off towards the house.

"Did you get them all?" Integra looked at Alucard expectantly.

"The leader got away and he took a new recruit with him," Alucard made a huffing sound that Cat could not decide if it was a laugh or disgust.

"Male or female?" Integra had gotten out a small pad of paper and was writing things down.

"Female. To be specific, Lucian's sister," he stuck his hands in his pockets like none of what had happened bothered him. Cat was sure that none of it did. He had seen this a million times before.

"Oh dear, this is going to be difficult to explain," Integra shoved the pad back in her coat pocket and headed for the house.

"Here you are Miss Cat," Walter had pulled a red pea coat out of the car and was holding it out for Cat.

"Oh thank you Walter," she realized how wet and cold she was when she saw the silky lining of the coat. She pushed her arms through the sleeves and quickly buttoned it up.

"Have you forgotten about your other friend?" Alucard moved to follow Integra back to the house and Cat followed him.

"Who…? Oh my gosh Colin!" Cat broke into a run and went around the side of the house to the back lawn. Colin was standing by a tree with one hand on his head like he was moments from making a decision. "Colin, are you okay?" Cat did not stop running until she was two inches from him.

"Yeah I…I guess so," he looked slightly shell shocked, but otherwise unscathed.

"Come on we'll find you a place to stay for tonight. Everything will be better tomorrow," Cat put her hand on his shoulder and led him around to the front of the house.

"Walter, can you arrange for Colin to stay somewhere until tomorrow? This is his house. Then I would like very much to go home please," she leaned Colin against the car and went back to the house to see if Integra would be ready soon.

When she got inside Integra was pulling identity cards out of pockets and purses and taking the information down onto a small pocket PC.

"Do you think you'll be done anytime soon? I would really like to leave," Cat did not feel bad at all for asking. Why should she stay here after all that had happened? She deserved a good nights rest and a break from all of the terror.

"It is going to be quite some time before I am done. Alucard, take her home and look after the house. Walter and I may not be back until morning with all these bodies to explain," she shoved an ID card back into a boys pocket and moved to the next.

"Yes, Master," Alucard bowed and then led Cat outside.

They stepped outside just in time to see Colin get into a cab. "I hope he'll be alright. I don't think he saw anyone killed though. He only heard the noise," Cat wondered if he would push it from his mind and never speak of it. That was how a lot of boys dealt with things. They did not like to talk about their feelings very much.

"We'll see you at home Walter," Alucard winked at Walter and took Cat's arm.

"What are you doing? How are we going to get back without a car?" Alucard drew her closer into a hug almost as tight as Lucian's had been.

"Vampires prefer not to travel by cars," cold shadows began to lick at Cat's feet. She tried to look down to see where they were coming from but Alucard held her too close.

"I change my mind. I'll just stay here," she tried to sound relaxed, but she knew he could hear the panic in her voice. She was sure even Walter could hear it.

"Don't worry Katherine, it will only hurt a little," he smiled wickedly and then everything was black.

Cat felt like she was standing next to an airplane engine. The wind rushing in her ears was so loud she could feel her eardrums rattle and was afraid they would even break. Her entire body felt like it was being burned from the inside out. It was the kind of burn that one could not tell if it was from fire or ice. She opened her eyes just long enough to see a world full of glowing red eyes, fangs, blood, broken glass, and death. Then it was over as quickly as it had begun. She felt her feet touch lightly onto the ground and the burning in her body felt only like a distant memory. She opened her eyes again to find herself in the foyer of Hellsing mansion.

"You see? It was not bad at all," Alucard dropped his arms away from her and headed off towards the kitchen.

"Right…not bad at all," Cat turned on the spot and went straight upstairs to change and go to bed. After she took a very hot shower and put on a fresh T-shirt she climbed into the cool sheets and snuggled deep into the pillows.

"_Vampires prefer not to travel by cars. _What a pompous thing to say," she chided before she pulled the covers over her head, knowing that Alucard would hear her.

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I expect lots of reviews! This took me a while to work out.


	32. Wolves

Read and give me lots of reviews or I shall become discouraged and not be able to think of any ideas at all.

**Wolves**

The month of June passed relatively more slowly than it had begun. For many nights after the werewolf incident, Alucard went out trying to track where the monster had gone. He found no traces of its scent or the scent of Krissy. A false funeral was arranged for her and an elaborate story to go with it. The coffin was of course empty and family members were told her accident had been too terrible to repair her features. Cat and the Hellsing Organization were the only ones who knew about what had really happened to her.

Cat spent the first half of July relaxing a bit more. School was out now so she spent time with Colin every few days and she tried to go out and make more friends. She was a little afraid to become too close to anyone in case werewolves invaded again.

She balanced hanging out with Colin and hanging out with Lucian and worked hard to be sure they never had to see each other. A rivalry had formed between them after Colin had recovered from the initial shock of hearing all of his friends killed.

"We had plans today!" Colin yelled at Lucian with his face only inches away.

"You were here yesterday and the day before! Why don't you give it a rest she doesn't even like you!" Lucian put up his fists ready to fight if he needed to.

"Are you mad?! You're the sniveling baby that she doesn't like! Going to a gun show romantic? You're pathetic!" Colin puffed out his chest trying to look mean.

"Oh yeah well you're a….!"

"That is _enough_," Alucard phased through the front doors onto the front steps where the brawl was about to begin. He picked both of the boys up by their shirts and walked them out to the grass where he unceremoniously tossed them to the ground. "It is high noon and if you and your noise are not gone by one minute past I will show you what rage really is," he narrowed his eyes at them and that was all it took. Cat had stood and watched as they ran stumbling down the driveway. Lucian had gone about halfway when he skidded to a halt seeming to realize he lived at Hellsing and turned to run the other way towards the soldier's barracks.

She chuckled out loud remembering the scene of a month ago.

"What is so funny?" Alucard peered over the large book he was reading and looked at her with a curiosity she rarely was allowed to see.

"Why don't you just read my mind?" she looked back down at her book and continued reading.

"I find it much more interesting when you struggle with the words to explain the inner-workings of your head," he chuckled as well and went back to his reading. After an entire hour of silent reading Alucard looked up from his book once more, "Something's coming, I wonder what." He stared out the window and then rolled his eyes to the top of his head as if he could see what it was behind his eyelids.

"What do you mean something's coming?" Cat shut her book and set it aside on the plump couch.

"Come along then. We will report to Sir Hellsing," he tossed his book to the side and started off towards her office.

Cat trotted behind him choosing to wait to ask again until they were with Integra. It was more likely she would get an answer this way. When they were down the hall from the office door Cat heard the front doorbell ring.

"Is that who's coming then? No one ever bothers ringing the front door if they're expected," Cat continued following him into the office and he gave her no answer.

They walked in to find Integra sitting on the computer like usual.

"Did I hear the front door ring?" Integra glanced up from her work.

"Indeed you did my Master," Alucard bowed theatrically.

"Yes well…?" she stared expectantly.

Alucard stared back menacingly and snickered.

"Alucard tell me who is at the door!" Integra looked annoyed, but under that annoyance Cat could see apprehension.

"Wolves of course, who else?" he put his hands in his pockets and sidled over to her desk to lean.

Cat was immediately on edge when she heard werewolves. She whipped her gun out of its holster and made an about face to the door while backing up to a safer distance. The scene of the fateful party night flew through her head over and over and she broke into a cold sweat.

"Ah, but you misunderstand Katherine. I said wolves, not werewolves. They are very different you see," he gestured to the door which someone knocked on as if by queue.

Walter poked his head through the door and took a quick second glance at Cat's gun pointing towards him, "Sir Hellsing there are two very well dressed young men to see you. Were you expecting someone?

"No Walter I was most certainly not," she glared at Alucard as he gave a great huff of amusement.

"Shall I send them in?" Walter looked wary.

"Yes send them in, and keep on guard outside Walter if you don't mind," she nodded to him and he nodded back. He opened the door the rest of the way and ushered the two men in.

Cat would not consider them men really. The younger of the two could not have been any older than Lucian and the other not many years ahead of that. Cat quickly put her gun away when she realized it was still pointing at the door and made a hasty retreat to the safety of Alucard's side.

"Might I help you with something?" Integra remained standing for the guests but did not make any moves to greet them.

"We are sorry we have shown up unannounced like this Miss, but we are in quite a predicament. I am Chaska and this is my brother Huritt. We come from Carlisle near the Cheviot Hills. We have an infestation of sorts. The men that falsely call themselves wolves have taken to our little alcove town and are reeking havoc amongst the villagers. We heard that there was a secret organization in London that dealt with this sort of thing. Though we are strong, we can not fight them alone so we come to you for help and guidance," he ended his speech with a deep hopeful breath.

"You've _heard_ of us have you? How, might I ask, did you hear about a secret organization," Integra looked amused now and sat back in her chair.

"It was about three weeks ago ma'am," Huritt spoke up, "a Catholic priest was traveling through the town preaching about his God. We heard him speaking to a dark eyed man about the secret Hellsing Organization. He did not speak kindly, but adequately. We thought nothing of it at the time, but it has come in handy now."

"Anderson of course, and Maxwell by the sound of it," Integra slumped back further in her chair thinking of what to do.

"So will you help us?" Chaska looked at her hopefully.

"Alucard what was that banter before about wolves?" Integra snapped her head up to look at him.

"Them of course my Master," he smiled at Huritt who took a step back.

"Elaborate," she crossed her arms and looked amused.

"Shape shifters of the ancient people. Men born with the spirit of the wolf, able to turn themselves into him in order to protect. Completely different from a werewolf, the full moon does not force them to change and they are always in control of their emotions. They change too and fro as they like and are not blood thirsty heathens of Hell," Alucard nodded his approval to Chaska who only looked confused.

"Is this right?" Integra looked at Chaska and Huritt.

"Yes it is true. We did not think it wise to tell you. We were worried you might think as similar to the diseased type of men and hunt us down as well," Chaska looked slightly worried.

"That will not be necessary. Who am I to judge an ancient art?" she began taking out papers and writing things down. Cat always wondered why killing monsters involved so much paper work. She understood that werewolves left bodies, but why did vampires need paper work at all?

"Population data my dear," Cat glanced up at Alucard but he was still looking at Chaska and Huritt with hungry curiosity.

"We will send aid to your village. How did you arrive here?" Cat noticed that Integra looked happier about the mission than she usually did. Perhaps she was glad to have finally found the werewolves.

"On foot ma'am," Cat started at this, but Chaska made no change of facial expression like traveling so far on foot was an everyday thing.

"It's the four legs. It makes things go much faster," Alucard almost whispered secretly. Cat looked up at him again, but he still had not moved an inch. She wondered what was making him so cheerful.

"I will arrange transportation for the four of you. You will leave in an hour so please prepare quickly. I will have Walter prepare a meal and tea for you and your brother so you may rest a bit first," Integra picked up the phone to dial Walter.

"Thank you very much Miss Hellsing, we are more than grateful for your help," Chaska and Huritt bowed deeply.

"Wait a minute…," Cat had just realized Integra mentioned four people going.

"Yes, Katherine?" Integra looked up from the telephone and eyed her.

"When you say four…?" she did not feel she could finish any sentences at the moment.

"Yes, Katherine you will be going with Alucard. Walter has had new guns made for you he will present them before you leave. There is no use in arguing, Alucard will need you to be there. More importantly I need you to be there with Alucard," she hung the phone up and stood up to see the men out.

"But Integra!" Cat was feeling frantic. The last thing she wanted to do was go to some other city and fight werewolves. Who even knew how many there were? She had not done so well the last time she encountered them, did Integra not realize that?

"I do not want to hear another word from your mouth about this Katherine, do you understand?" she ushered the men out into the hall where Walter intercepted them and took them towards the library for tea.

Cat made no response. She stomped out of the office and down the hall to her room. She packed her things in rage and put on more suitable clothes for travel. She had not a clue how long it would take or by what means they were going, but she thought a long book would help her keep her mind off things. She grabbed Salem's Lot off the shelf and tossed it into her backpack.

Packing had taken all of five minutes so she fell face first onto the bed to sulk. Why did she have to go on such a dangerous mission? She knew that Alucard would be able to handle it by himself. Integra was always being overly dramatic when she said someone had to be around to keep tabs on Alucard. It was not as if he would finish the mission and then go off looking for Alexander Anderson. He was not that selfish and out of his mind was he? Cat preferred not to think of it. She shut her eyes tight and tried to fall asleep, but all she could see was the dripping jaws of a blood crazed werewolf staring at her.

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	33. A Train Ride

A short bit. PLEASE review

**A Train Ride**

Katherine jerked herself awake as the train hit a bump. She had felt as though she was falling, but upon opening her eyes saw she was securely tucked in a blanket on the soft seat of the train compartment. She closed her eyes again wanting to fall back asleep and tried to snuggle her head into the pillow it was lying on. It was too hard and cold to be a pillow so she turned her head to the side to see what someone had put under her.She shrank back towards the window when she saw the bright red fabric.

"Don't be so jumpy. You'll fall right out of your seat," he sat unnaturally straight with his arms crossed and his eyes glued to the window.

"I'm alone in a train compartment with two wolves and a vampire and you say not to be jumpy," she tried shifting out of the blanket, but found her arms were tightly crossed over her chest and the blanket showed no signs of giving way. "Did you wrap me in this?"

"Yes, you kept snuggling," he continued staring out the window.

"Why is it so tight?! I can't even move," she wiggled back and forth until the blanket became looser and she could push her arms out though the top, "and what do you mean snuggling?"

The door to the compartment slid open and the co-conductor stuck his head in, "Carlisle station?"

Alucard looked away from the window and nodded at him. Usually people cowered when Alucard even glanced at them, but Cat was glad to see the man take no notice to Alucard's obvious stature.

"We arrive in one hour, have your tickets when you get off," he slid the door shut again and Cat could hear him talking to the passengers in the next compartment.

She had spoken to them for a few minutes when she had gone to find something to eat. They left their compartment at the same time she did and followed behind her as they all went to the dining car. When she sat down in an empty booth they had asked to sit with her.

"Has your trip been fine?" the older of the two women asked.

"Oh yes, it's much more relaxing than flying," Cat picked up a menu to look busier. She was still not keen on strangers talking to her.

"Where are you headed?" the man who cat assumed was the older woman's husband or boyfriend asked.

"Carlisle," she looked at him and smiled politely.

"A business trip perhaps?" Cat's polite smile faltered and she became suspicious of the people.

"No…I'm going to visit some old friends," she set the menu down and met their prying eyes.

"That man with you," the younger woman asked, "is he your chaperone?"

"Something like that," Cat was beginning to think it would be better to just stop by the snack car and go back to the safety of the compartment.

"What about the other men you are with? Are they your friends?" the man leaned forward like he was about to hear a great secret.

"What business is it of yours?" Cat was tired of all the concerned looks she got from people when they saw her with Alucard. He was no more a danger to her than a butterfly was. For now anyway.

"Are you traveling of your own free will, dear?" the older women looked at her warily.

"Of course I am!" Cat was growing tired of them very quickly. Why did they even care anyway? They did not know her. For all they knew she could be the one pulling the strings. In a way she was and she thought if she really wanted to she could have Alucard dispose of these nosey people. She covered her mouth as if she had said the atrocious thought out loud, "The people I am traveling with are my friends and I am perfectly fine without the help of nosey strangers," she got up from the booth and quickly went back to the compartment, grabbing a few snacks on the way.

She had slid the door shut very loudly when she got back and sat down on the seat in a huff.

"Would you like me to get rid of them," Alucard crooned. Cat knew he had read out of her mind what had just happened and what she had said to herself about him.

"No, and get out of my head," she turned to face the window and had fallen asleep not long after that.

Now she listened to the people converse with the co-conductor. The voices were hushed for a moment and Cat was sure they were asking him about their frightful neighbors. She heard the co-conductor laugh loudly like a Santa Claus and she giggled. He probably thought the people as ridiculous in their assumptions as she did.

"But their assumptions are right," he looked down at her and grinned evilly.

"They aren't right at all. They think I'm in some sort of danger and that just is not the case," she no longer questioned Alucard about his intentions. She proudly assumed that he would not ever be killing her because he was her friend. He cruelly made fun of her for it and even threatened to murder her on her birthday to prove her wrong, but his dramatic threats only made her more sure. She knew that when people got too defensive it meant that the assumptions were right and they were the only ones still in denial.

"That was not their only assumption. They are also fearful that I am not human," he laughed a little and smiled like he was proud of himself.

"Well they are certainly right about that. Where did the wolves go?" Cat would still not call them by name. She did not completely trust something that could turn into a wolf and claim it was completely different from a werewolf.

"They are in the smoking car," he returned his gaze to the window.

"Don't they know smoking will kill you," she dug around in her backpack for her book.

"Few things kill immortals. Smoking least of all," he pulled his hat over his eyes and seemed to go to sleep.

Cat looked out the window. They had left London at seven o'clock at night the day before. It had now been nearly twelve hours on the train and the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon.

"Alucard are we going to be going out this morning? Or are we going to wait until it gets late?" she preferred to do things when it was light outside so she could see what was attacking her, but she thought the werewolves were most likely nocturnal beings such as vampires.

Alucard did not answer or even move. Cat continued on reading her book and decided she would just wait until they got off at the train stop before she started picking him for information again.

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	34. Together

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Read and review please  
Enjoy.

_**Together**_

Cat looked up from her book when Chaska slid opened the compartment door and stepped inside with Huritt. They smelled like smoke, but Cat was surprised to find it was not cigarettes. It had an earthy smell like a camp fire and it was not unpleasant. The train had begun to decelerate and Cat suspected they would be pulling into the station any minute. She closed her book and put it back into her pack. Chaska and Huritt pulled down their backpacks from the luggage compartment and put them on. Cat could tell they were feeling anxious.

Finally she could see the station around the bend of the tracks. She lifted her backpack onto her back and stood up ready to finally stretch her legs.

Alucard was still sitting with his hat over his head and Cat wondered if he was really asleep. She tapped her toe against his big boot, but he did not move. She tapped it again slightly harder.

"You're going to fall when the train stops if you don't sit down," he lifted his head slightly to look at her.

"Nonsense, we're barley going two miles per…," the train made a screeching noise as it abruptly stopped. Alucard caught Cat's arm before she was hurled into Chaska and Huritt who had masterfully kept their balance.

"I told you to sit down," Alucard stood up keeping a hold of her arm and led them all off the train.

The station was incredibly busy for so early in the morning and Cat was hustled and bustled through the thick throngs of people.

"Where are we going Alucard?" she tried to stick close as he dragged her by the arm through the people. She noticed none of these people cowered out of his way. They must be used to stranger things so close to the mountains.

Alucard did not answer, but pointed to a car sitting in the station parking lot. The headlights were on and the trunk was opened and ready for their bags.

"We will see you tonight then," Chaska made a small bow along with Huritt and they went off in another direction.

"Why aren't they coming with us?" she wondered where they were going to spend the entire day.

"Get in the car quickly now," Alucard shut the trunk without bothering to put her little backpack in and nearly shoved her through the door. She reached for her seatbelt, but found herself being quickly pushed over to the other side so he could get in.

"Why don't you just go to the other door, jeeze," she pursed her lips at him, but he was not looking.

"Drive," he said rather loudly and the car began to move.

Cat looked up and saw there was a very dark window between them and the driver. She could only see his shadow through it when they were driving towards the sun.

"Why are we being so sneaky?" Cat buckled her seatbelt and surveyed the thick trees flying by.

"Werewolves look like people if you don't recall. They could be anywhere and we don't want them to have any warning we're coming," he leaned back in the seat and pulled his hat over his eyes again.

"What if the driver is a werewolf!" she knew that Alucard would know if the driver was not human, but the trip had bored her into being silly.

"He works for Hellsing, but maybe you are," he pointed his finger at her and shaped his hand into a black shadow gun.

"Oh yeah I'm a wolf, grrrrr," she giggled and then frowned when he did not laugh back. "Where are we going Alucard?"

"To a hotel. We will stay there until dark."

"Do I have my own room?"

"No."

"Why not! Well can I leave?"

"It is safer that way, and no."

"This is ridiculous!" she turned her back to him and leaned her head against the window. The forest they were passing was very pretty and almost glowed green. She watched the trees go by in a blur and tried to focus her eyes on each one. After a minute or two of this she began to fall asleep and finally nodded off.

Cat awoke abruptly to the sound of a car door slamming. She sat up quickly and surveyed her surroundings. Alucard was not in the car anymore and she could not tell if the driver was or was not. She looked around for a button to roll the window down, but there was not one. She looked out her window and saw they were in front of a very nice looking hotel. She relaxed a little and thought that Alucard must be checking them in. She reached for the car door, but the lock snapped down before she could open it. She hit the unlock button and nothing happened.

"You've got to be kidding me," she jigged the handle of the door and then gave up. Alucard was being too cautious. It was beginning to worry her. If they had to be so carful not to be seen did that mean the werewolves were stronger or in greater numbers than she had previously thought? If that was the reason then why did Integra not send more people to help with the problem? Surely she must have gotten all the information about how many and how powerful they were. None of it was adding up and Cat was looking forward to a day of silence in a hotel room with a coffin and no answers.

As she was considering kicking the window out, the door opened and Alucard grabbed her by the arm once again.

"You don't have to pull me around like that I can walk perfectly fine you know," she struggled to keep up with him as he walked into the hotel lobby and headed for the elevator.

"This is our cover," he jammed the elevator button and Cat watched as the floors on the screen changed unusually fast.

"Our cover is what? That you've kidnapped me?" Cat tried to pry his hand off her wrist, but it was like trying to get a lump of dried cement off the ground.

"No, that we are together," the elevator dinged and he dragged her inside.

Cat was glad no one was inside the elevator because she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that she collapsed to her knees and dangled from Alucard's grasp. She gasped and wheezed for three whole floors before she was able to get a hold of herself.

"What is so funny?" Alucard looked down at her with disgust and a bit of confusion.

"Together? _Together? _Whose less than brilliant idea was that! Some disguise _that _is! Like it would matter at all how we enter a hotel! And just so you know, in most cases people who are _together_," she let each syllable drawl out, "don't drag their partners around by the arm."

"Well what would you have me do then?" his face was growing dark and his eyes narrowed.

"Nothing! Stop being stupid and tell me why we are being so cautious. If it wasn't an easy extermination why did Integra send only the two of us?" she saw his eyes widen and darken further at the word stupid, but she chose to ignore it.

"It is more dangerous than you know," he threw her arm down and she stumbled as the elevator began to go increasingly faster. It flew up to the last floor of the building and stopped short causing Cat to fall into the corner. She caught herself on the bar, avoiding the embarrassment of picking herself up off the floor.

Alucard stomped out of the elevator and down the hall without waiting for her. She jogged after him knowing that he was going to be like this for the rest of the day and not bothering to ask any more questions. They got to the end of the hall and he ignored the key card he was given, opening the door a little too hard for its liking. It made a sad shuttering sound and bounced back the other way after he had gone through. Cat had to catch it quickly before it hit her in the face.

She saw that Alucard's coffin was already in the middle of the floor. Other than for the big black coffin in the room, it was very beautiful. It was much bigger than all other hotel rooms Cat had seen before and had French doors opening out to a balcony. There were more French doors leading into a tea room and the bathroom was bigger than hers back at Hellsing. There was one large canopy bed in the middle of the room and it faced and very equipped entertainment system.

Cat watched as Alucard removed his hat and coat and hung them carefully in the closet. He then went over to his coffin and climbed inside, leaving his boots and guns on. After he was in, it lifted itself off the floor a few feet. Across the room the thick curtains slid shut and the room was plunged into almost complete darkness.

"So you're not going to speak with me now?" Cat went over to the four poster bed and climbed on top of its tall mattress. She peered over the end of the bed into Alucard's coffin. His eyes were already closed and he was as still as stone. She reached out to poke him and the coffin snapped shut barely giving her enough time to get her hand out of the way.

"Well I guess that's it then. Eleven hours to kill by myself in a hotel room," she looked over on the other side of the bed and spotted a mini fridge and the remote control to the television.

"I supposed I'll just have to do my best to entertain myself," she grinned widely as she picked up the remote and popped opened the fridge.

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	35. Despite Your Fear

Reviews are all I ask for. I'm having trouble thinking up a way to make this looming battle very graphic so it's taking a while.

**Despite Your Fear**

In the eleven hours that she was in the hotel room Cat watched five movies on pay-per-view. She drank the seven sodas that were in the mini fridge and the two one liter bottles of water. She ate the five bags of different chips that were in a basket on top of the fridge and she ate most of the candy that was there as well. Around three o'clock she realized the hotel had room service so she ordered enough food for herself and Alucard. It was not as though the people at the hotel knew he did not eat so she could safely be gluttonous without any unpleasant stares. She ordered some different sandwiches and then more than enough desserts to have a party. What else was she going to do all day? She was not allowed to leave so the only option left was to laze around and eat. It did not matter anyway because she would be working all of the calories off that night.

At around six o'clock she collapsed onto the bed with a terrible stomach ache. She felt full to the point of bursting and even looking at a plate of food made her stomach gurgle boisterously and threaten to heave its contents onto the fluffy white carpet.

After ten minutes of lying on the bed looking like a beached whale she heard the lid to Alucard's coffin slide open. She waited to see him sit up like a jack in the box, but he did not break the horizon of the bed. After another minute she flipped herself over and dragged her body across the bed to peer over the side. He was lying perfectly still with his eyes shut.

"You've overslept and we've missed the entire battle. The wolves did perfectly fine without us and they've asked us to leave immediately for your presence makes them nervous," she waited to see if he had any snide comment for this but he only laid still. "Get up it's a quarter of six. I'm not getting you anything you've been nasty to me," she rolled herself to the other side of the bed and pressed her face into the pillows.

After another minute of silence Alucard rose up out of the coffin and dawned his coat and hat. He went to the mini fridge and pulled out a blood pack that Cat had not noticed before, and then headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" she drearily pulled her head up from the pillows and looked at him.

"To meet with the wolves downstairs. I will chat with them for a moment then I will come back up to retrieve you. Be ready when I get here," he opened the door and began to leave.

"Do I have to go? It isn't as though I'm going to be any help and you know it. I don't even know if I can shoot those guns Walter had made. Have you seen the size of them? They're almost as big as yours! And two! Well that's just unreasonable. I see no point of me being there at all. I think I should just wait here until you get back. You know it really would be a lot easier if I wasn't even there. You wouldn't have to…," he cut her off short.

"Would you stop your prattle!" the pictures on the walls shook and Cat heard the shampoo bottles in the bathroom fall off the rack.

"No need to snap…it was just a suggestion," she rolled off the bed and started pulling clothes out of her pack.

"Be ready when I get back," he turned and left, shutting the door loudly behind him.

"_Be ready when I get back_, what does it look like I'm doing you dolt. This is so _stupid. _I'll be surprised if this night does not end in some sort of tragedy. I'll end up shooting one of those ridiculous shape shifters and then we'll end up fighting _another _mythical creature war because they'll want to avenge their friend. I swear if I live through this I am _not _taking any more crap!" she undressed in anger and threw her dirty clothes at Alucard's coffin where they fell into it or hung off the edge. She shoved her arms though her Hellsing shirt and pulled on the much too short shorts. Then she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and fix her hair into a ponytail that would hold up to werewolves. While she brushed her teeth she wondered how long it would take Alucard to talk with the wolves down stairs.

At that very moment he poked his head through the mirror, "Are you ready yet?"

She screamed and nearly swallowed the mess of toothpaste in her mouth. She managed to spit it out so she could scream at him, "Are you mad! Don't do that! That's why they make doors!"

"You should button up, you don't want to draw attention to yourself," he nodded at her shirt and then phased the rest of the way into the bathroom and out through the bathroom door.

She looked down at her shirt and quickly shut it mortified. She had not yet buttoned it while she was getting ready. She was never going to live it down. "Stupid jerk," she spat as she rinsed the rest of the toothpaste out of her mouth and buttoned and tucked in her shirt.

She was not going to let a little blunder like that ruin her night so she harnessed her angry towards Alucard into angry towards the werewolves and hoped it would be enough to give her courage to face them.

She stepped back out into the room and acted as though nothing had happened, "I'm ready to go."

"Where are your guns?" he looked at the Redhawk at her side and the small Ruger Walter had given to her.

"These are my guns, they'll do fine," she patted the familiar metal of them and smiled. Walter had given her the Ruger before she left. He said it was the first gun his father had given him and it had served him well.

"They will not do fine, they will not even do," he stood up and went to the closet, pulling out the hard suitcase her new guns were carefully packed in. He pulled them out and held them up for her to take.

They were both very ugly things in her opinion. They were modeled after Alucard's Jackal, but were only nine inches in length. They were made from a boring mat black metal and on the side Hellsing was inscribed in loopy script. They were exactly identical in every way though they were handmade. When Walter had handed them over he had said, "Un a crea de iad pentru unul de rai." Cat asked him what it meant, but was interrupted by Alucard who had burst out laughing. Walter had also given them names, Rai and Iad. He had declined to answer when she asked about these, but thought it would be easy to look up anyway.

Now here they were, dangling in front of her, waiting to be cradled in their holsters. The metal glistened impossibly, as if the guns were eager for the battle to start. She ruefully unsnapped the holster of her sensible guns and slowly strapped on the one for Rai and Iad. She slid them in part way and then let them drop so they could settle how they liked. She was surprised to find the weight of them was not unpleasant.

"Now you are properly ready for a battle," he tipped his hat slightly and Cat was not sure if he was fixing it or showing some sort of feeble respect for her.

She followed him down the hall and into the elevator. The weight of what was about to happen finally began to settle in the pit of her stomach. It lay there and burned a hole in her, working its way down her legs and into her feet, and then back up them and to her arms. They reached the bottom floor of the hotel by the time her hands started to burn and she followed Alucard out into the lobby. She noticed the desk clerk nod at him solemnly and he in turn nodded back. This struck her as odd, but she did not have time to decipher it, for the burning was now working its way up her neck and into her face. It would only be seconds before it reached the top of her head and then she would be on fire. She was alight on the inside and no one could see it and no one could help her and no one could save her.

"I can't do this," she whispered trying to keep her voice steady.

Alucard did not answer her. He continued walking out of the hotel and across the road to the trees. He stopped at the edge of them and peered into the darkness, "Are you ready?"

Cat thought it was Chaska who answered, "Yes, we are all here. We will follow you until the battle is won."

"Optimistic aren't they?" Alucard looked down at Cat and smiled.

She stared at his face and for a moment was blinded so much by the burning that she mistook the smile for encouragement and love. Then she saw that it was only an ugly thing full of bloodlust and excitement for the killing to come.

He stepped towards the trees and Cat grabbed his arm with a vice like grip. She could not even see past the first couple of trees, they were so thick and it was pitch black. "I can't go Alucard I just can't. I can't go in there blind like this," she felt the burning touch the corners of her eyes and her tears spilled out silently, trying their best to put out the fire.

Alucard glanced at the small white hand on his arm. It was a familiar scene and he felt, for a moment, a longing for the past. He looked into her small childlike face and tried to summon some pity, but none came. Inside of her this was what she wanted; to fight the things that went bump in the night, to tear apart the creatures that so ruthlessly tore apart the innocent. She was glad to be here at the edge of the woods with two guns on her hips and a perfect excuse to use them, even if she did not know it yet.

"Despite your fear, follow me into the darkness as far as you can," and then he led her in, through the thick trees and to the place where the wolves were waiting.


	36. Anderson

finally something long.  
Review my dears and suggestions are welcome  
Enjoy.

**Anderson**

Cat held onto Alucard's sleeve as he walked swiftly through the trees. She assumed they met up with the wolves about ten feet in because she heard other foot falls around them. It was pitch black all around now and Cat held her eyes open as wide as she could, trying to catch any small bit of light that might creep through the tree tops. After around five minutes of hasty walking Alucard and all of the foot steps stopped. Cat listened carefully, but she could only hear the breeze in the trees. The air was becoming colder and she shivered as a strong gust broke through the tree tops and made its way to the forest floor.

"Get on my back," Cat looked towards Alucard's voice but only saw blackness.

"Why? I can walk fine I haven't run into anything," Cat realized that her initial fear had subsided and was replaced with a strange anticipation.

"We must move faster now. The wind had betrayed us," Cat felt him kneel in front of her and she leaned over him, locking her arms around his neck. He stood up quickly before she had gotten a good grip and she nearly fell off. She tightened her grip remembering he did not need to breath and locked her legs around him.

Then they were off. Cat could feel the wind rushing past her impossibly fast. It was cold and bit at her cheeks and eyes. She buried her face into Alucard's collar and shut her eyes tight. With them closed it only felt like she was flying down the highway with the window opened. She relaxed a little and slid barely a millimeter downwards.

Alucard twisted his arms behind him and locked them around her back. "I said hold on!" he nearly shouted.

"I am! I've barely moved!" Cat knew he would hear her though she could hardly hear herself over the gush of wind and trees passing by.

She wondered how long it would be before they arrived to where ever they were going.

"Pick up your head," she could hear Alucard clearly and she wondered if he was talking into her mind.

She lifted her face slightly and peeked over her arm. She could see the forest better now. The trees had thinned out considerably and moon light was drifting down and touching the forest floor in some places. With any luck she would be able to see perfectly fine by the time they reached the battle. She lifted her head completely now and watched the path ahead. There were a few wolves running in front of them. Cat looked to both sides and saw there were wolves around and behind them as well. Some of them had transformed into animals and some were still their human selves. She wondered in which form they would choose to fight. Surely it would be easier to stay human and use a gun, but maybe they liked to fight beast to beast.

She looked to the front again and could see lights behind the trees, "Isn't that town up ahead?"

"You're eyes are good for a small human," Alucard said amused.

Chaska began to slow down, "We should have reached them by now." He lifted his head into the air and sniffed.

"Something is amiss," Alucard began to slow as well and sniffed the air. "I smell only ink and smelling salts. We have been beguiled," he turned to look at Chaska who looked concerned.

Cat looked ahead and saw it, only at the last second, "Alucard look out!"

Alucard did not bother to look forward or slow down. There was no time for it. He took a hold of Cat's leg and yanked her down his back. She slid down about half way and then latched on again, afraid to tumble onto the rubble.

Alucard felt the sting of the small silver piece of wire that had been set up to his height and grinned widely before it finished cutting through his neck. The speed he had been going allowed it to cut through easily and cleanly. His head popped into the air as the wire rebounded and then rolled onto the ground in a tangled heap of hair and blood. His body took a few more steps before it also fell forward with a loud thump.

Cat felt the spray of hot blood as the wire cut through, but she did not know where it came from. She held on to Alucard's body and did not look up until she felt him leaning forward and falling to the ground. She then felt the hot spill of blood that was running down his back from his neck. She gasped as she saw the bloody stump and then landed with a cushioned thump on top of him. For a moment she did not move. She could not think of what to do. She knew Alucard could fix himself, but was getting his head cut off too much? Could he fix that? She regained her scattered mind when she heard the snarls begin.

Her first thought was that the wolves were angry that they had been tricked. The werewolves were probably not even here. They had just set this trap thinking it would get rid of their biggest problem. As she turned around though she saw the battle was already going on full force. Humans fighting werewolves, wolves fighting werewolves, some humans fighting wolves. She had no idea who she should shoot first. Should she wait until she was attacked or should she go and help the wolves who looked as though they were doing poorly? Should she try to find Alucard's head? Would the werewolves even notice her? Her last question was answered when one of the werewolves ripped off a wolf's head and immediately turned and headed for her.

He ran towards her at first on two legs and then on all fours in a full gallop. She still sat on top of Alucard, stunned and not sure what to do.

"Shoot of course."

She pulled out her twin guns and aimed them at the werewolf. He showed no signs of slowing so she pulled the trigger to Rai. The kick was more powerful than any gun she had ever held. If her arm had not been bent at the elbow it would have been quickly broken. It flew in the air and she tumbled backwards into the pool of blood that had been forming around Alucard's neck. She braced herself to be tackled by a mess of fur and teeth, but it did not come. She peeked over Alucard's body and saw a man lying dead on the ground. The top half of his head was completely blown away.

"I got him!" she jumped up and sloshed out of the puddle of mud and blood. Alucard's head was lying close by next to a tree stump so she ran over to collect it. She picked it up and brushed the hair and leaves out of his face. She looked down at the white vacant face sadly. Blood continued to stream out of the corner of his mouth and his eyes were opened half way. They still looked alive and sad, "Can you be fixed Alucard? I can't do it by myself."

"Of course you can little orphan. You already have," the head melted out of her hands into a pile of bugs and chunks of jelly like blood. Cat turned around and saw that his body was doing the same thing.

It was good enough for her. She had been silly to think that something so menial could destroy her no life king.

She was ready now. She stood up straight and marched into the battle. At first many of the werewolves did not even notice her. They were busy fighting with the shape shifters or gloating to one another about what they had done to them. They bragged about how many limbs they could tear off at once or how big a chunk they could take out with their teeth. They fought and snarled and bit at everything in range. But this was all it was, fighting. Nothing was being taken care of and Cat was all about business.

She fired Iad and hit a werewolf who was attacking one of her men. She fired Rai twice in another direction and took down two who were not paying attention. She fell easily into the pattern of firing one gun and then the other while she waited for her arm to recoil from the shot. Her arms flew back and forth as she fired shot after shot. She turned slowly in a circle hitting every werewolf she could see. She shot any men who ran at her assuming they were either a werewolf or with the werewolves. After what seemed like only seconds Rai and Iad clicked emptily. Cat ducked down behind a tree to quickly reload them. She touched the muzzle of a twin and found it to be scalding hot. She shoved another clip into each of them and then ducked back out into the battle.

She counted quickly and found there to be about fifteen werewolves left. There were at least twenty bodies lying on the ground and she prayed that most of them were werewolves. She knew that at least twelve were enemies because she had shot them herself. She began again to shoot the werewolves that were transformed. She paid no mind to the shape shifters fighting them. She shot werewolves right out from underneath them or on top of them. It did not matter to her if she took away someone's glory. They were dragging this out far too long.

That was when she saw him, the massive werewolf that had nearly attacked her that day at Colin's party. He was sprinting towards Chaska who was winning a fight with a much smaller werewolf. Cat aimed without thinking and hit him in the side. She wanted to see him suffer, even if it was only a small amount. He stumbled, but kept charging so she shot him again in the arm. This time he plowed into the ground and slid into Chaska and the smaller monster. Cat saw the small werewolf look with devastation at the giant monster and then she started to change. She shrank down to an even smaller size and her facial features became delicate and pretty. The hair on her head lengthened and began to turn a light blond color. Cat ran forward knowing who the werewolf would eventually become. She aimed Iad at the giant monster's head and pulled the trigger.

Even at fifteen feet away the power of Iad caused the werewolf's head to explode leaving only a stub of neck. The smaller werewolf who had now completed its transformation back into Krissy screamed out in pain for the death of her short time lover and creator. She threw herself over his body as it changed back into a man and sobbed in loud shrill bursts. Chaska abandoned her to find a real fight and Cat was left to watch her old friend sob.

She stepped forward wanting to comfort Krissy. She was sure that after the shock of losing the man that turned her into a monster she would come to her senses and maybe she could work for Hellsing. They had a vampire so why not a werewolf? She stepped on a branch as she approached and it made a loud pop.

Krissy looked up from the body and snarled like an animal, "You get away from us!"

"Krissy it's me, do you remember? It's Cat, I was there when…when you were taken away that night," Cat re-holstered her guns and held her arms out palms up.

"I wasn't taken away! I wanted to go!" she barred her teeth and pushed herself up into a crouch.

"Krissy he only made you think that. This isn't you it's the poison in your blood talking. Let me help you, please," she continued to step forward with her arms outstretched like a negotiator in a bank robbery. She was negotiating in a way. For both Krissy's and her own life.

"I said get away from us! You've taken everything from me! You took my brother you took Colin! And now you've killed my love! I'll make you pay!" Krissy jumped away from the body and lunged towards Cat. She did not bother morphing into a werewolf. She reached out to grab Cat around the neck, but Cat ducked down and tried to tackle her from the side.

As soon as she collided with Krissy she knew she had made a mistake. Krissy was smaller than her yet she was as solid as a rock. Cat merely bounced off of her and fell to the ground. She stood up as quickly as she could and grabbed for Rai, but she was seconds too late. Krissy plowed into her and Cat flew backwards and hit a tree. The back of her head hit the hard trunk and she slid down onto the ground in a lump. She tried to keep her eyes opened to watch Krissy come towards her, but she felt too dizzy and sick.

She had made such a stupid small mistake and now she was going to die. Where in the world had Alucard gone after he put himself back together? She had told him that this kind of thing was bound to happen.

Cat closed her eyes and let the darkness take her. She thought she heard a gun shot, but it was only wishful thinking, she was sure of it. She was going to be eaten by a werewolf. At least the shape shifters had won the battle. She was sure Krissy had been one of the last werewolves standing. The others would pick the last of them off soon enough.

Cat felt cold and wet. Her eyes fluttered behind their lids and she tried to open them. They felt like they weighed a ton. She could hear voices. Was it the wolves? Were they looking for her? She wiggled her fingers and toes and found them in working condition. Next she tried moving her arms, which were stiff but otherwise fine. Her legs felt very sore as well but they moved easily enough. It was her head and neck that were the problem. She had slumped over in the oddest position under the tree and her neck felt like it was made of stone. Maybe she would just stay here until Alucard came by and carried her home. She thought she deserved a good rest after all of the shooting she had done.

She listened closely to the voices. She did not recognize one, but the other sounded sarcastic and boastful. It was Alucard, but who was he talking to? It was a deep voice and Cat thought she could hear an accent on it, but she could not be sure from so far away. She laid there for a while trying to think of who it could be. Perhaps someone from Hellsing had come to retrieve them already. Then out of no where shots were fired.

Cat sprang off the ground ignoring the pain in her neck and head. She knew that sound better than anything. Alucard's gun was the only thing that could be that loud. She ran towards the yelling and laughing and gun shots. Laughing? Why would he be laughing, and the other voice was as well. There was another sound she could not recognize. It sounded like a high pitched swishing as if something big was cutting through the air very fast. She pushed her legs harder, anxious to see what was going on.

Not far up ahead she could see a clearing full of moonlight. Two figures were running back and forth at blurring speeds. Cat could see the red from Alucard's coat, but she still did not recognize the other man. He was as large as Alucard and nearly just as fast. Then as she got closer she heard Alucard taunting him.

"I'll send you to hell Judas priest!" he laughed manically and pumped shot after shot into the man who barley seemed to notice.

"Judas priest?" Cat slowed down to a walk. She did not think Alucard was in danger of being killed by a man. Now that she was closer she could see he was throwing knives. Did he think knives could bring down a master vampire?

"Judas?" she thought about it again, "Judas…Iscariot?! Anderson! Alucard stop!" she started to run again. Just as she broke into the clearing Anderson threw a barrage of the swords at Alucard, pinning him to a tree. Cat lurched forward before Anderson noticed her and grabbed the Jackal off the ground. She stood up in front of Alucard and faced the man everyone seemed to hate so much.

"Ahh, what do we have here Alucard? A wee draculina?" he moved towards Cat slowly and she held Jackal up as well as she could. It was God awfully heavy.

"I'm not a vampire," Cat thought this was important to make clear. This guy already looked crazy enough; she did not want to give him any more excuse.

"Hm, so you are not lass, but what are you doing out here with this monster?" he kept moving forward slowly.

"I work for Hellsing as well. Half the reason I came here was to make sure _you _stayed away from Alucard," she looked at him then added, "and vice versa."

"Ha-ha, Hellsing using children to do their dirty work aye Alucard! It's pathetic. Come now child give me that gun and I will take you to safety," he reached out to her with his palms up just as she had done to Krissy. She knew this game well.

"Alright," she dropped her arms and let the Jackal fall behind her. It was a great relief, actually, to not be holding it anymore. She kept a close eye on Anderson's steps as he moved steadily forward. When he was close enough she snatched one of the blades out of Alucard's hand behind her. Se threw it as hard as she could and the priest fell back as it hit him in the forehead. As soon as she was down she turned around and pulled the other sword out of Alucard's hand and helped him remove the rest.

"Why couldn't you just get down they're only swords!" Cat was frantic. She knew Anderson would not be down long.

"They are blessed blades. A problem even for my kind," he slid off the tree when most of them had been pulled out. Cat saw that they melted away once they were lying useless on the ground.

"Bravo wee child," Cat turned around as Anderson stood up and laughed, "tricking a priest to save a vampire. What has Hellsing promised you for your services? Eternal life? Riches and glory? Come now you can tell old Anderson." He grinned and Cat found it to be more disturbing than Alucard's.

"There's no such thing as eternal life. And I'm not interested in riches or glory. I'm interested in exterminating monsters like you," Cat reached for her gun, but Alucard stayed her hand.

"Ah, but my child that is why I am here, to exterminate monsters. That man you keep so close to is no man, but a bloody vampire. He will sink his heathen fangs into your supple young throat as soon as he gets the chance. Then they will throw you out with the trash like they do with all the other humans they manipulate," he was standing with his arms to his sides and his fists clenched, but he had put away his swords.

"You're wrong about them Father Anderson," when in doubt, be sweet Cat thought, "we're doing the same job as you. It seems a shame we can not set aside our differences and work together for the good of humanity."

Alucard chuckled lightly, "You see Judas priest? Not everyone from Hellsing wants to rip off your dirty experimental head."

Cat looked up at him and frowned. Had he not known she was joking? The last thing she wanted to do was join forces with a man hell bent on killing everyone from Hellsing.

"Well, it would seem our battle has been interrupted once again, Vampire. Until next time then Miss…?" he came forward with his hand outstretched to shake Katherine's.

She took it politely and even managed a curtsy with an invisible skirt, "Katherine Deschain. I'm sure I will see you again Father Anderson."

"Aye lass, that you will and you as well Alucard. The next time I see you I don't want to see this child's blood spilt on your hands," he glared up Alucard and gave Cat's hand a friendly squeeze.

Maybe Anderson was not as bad as they had made him out to be. Sure he hated Alucard, but that did not mean he was a terrible person. There were a lot of people who hated Alucard. Cat had hated him when she first met him. He made it easy for people to hate him.

"Don't worry Anderson, I wouldn't dream of killing my personal soldier," Alucard smirked at him and dropped a heavy hand and Cat's shoulder. She cringed as it jostled her sore neck.

"Well I'll be off then. It was good to meet you Katherine," he nodded at her and headed off in the direction they had been running when this whole thing started.

She smiled back at him and then let out the huge breath she had been holding, "What were you thinking Alucard!? You know you weren't supposed to start anything with him! I can't believe you left me lying limp under a tree to go off and fight a priest."

"Anderson is the one who initiated things. He had been waiting here all along for us to come. He knew the wolves were listening that day when he let slip information about Hellsing. Come now, I am tired," he kneeled once again for her to crawl onto his back and she did with no complaint. She was tired as well and could not wait to fall back into the soft hotel bed.

"Where did all the wolves go?" she asked as they sped through the forest.

"They took their wounded back to their village as soon as the last werewolf fell. They faired well," Alucard zigged and zagged through the trees. Cat noticed he was going slower than before.

"That's good, I was worried. Are you alright?" she sat up higher so she could lean over and look at his face. It was set like it usually was, but in a different way.

"The wounds from those blades are not as easy to heal," he turned his head and grinned, "I need a bite to drink."

She quickly pulled herself back as far as she could go without falling off, "Well don't look at me!"

"Don't be so jumpy Katherine, you'll fall. I'll make a quick stop by town before we head back," he started to lean in the direction she assumed town was.

"No! Drop me off first I don't want to wait outside someone's house while you eat them! I can't believe you sometimes," she pursed her lips and scowled.

"Very well then, I will drop you off at the edge of the road. You can manage to make it across the road yourself can't you?" he changed his direction again heading back for the hotel.

"Yes I can manage to get across the road. You're even more sarcastic when you're hungry," she relaxed again but stayed sitting back from his head, better safe than sorry. "If that's even possible," she added.

After five minutes of swift running they made it to the road. Alucard plopped her down and handed her the key card for the room, "Do not speak to anyone on your way up."

"Why not? All the werewolves are dead aren't they?" Cat took the card but was now feeling nervous. Maybe it would be a better idea to just go to town with Alucard. She had seen him eat before, it was not so bad.

"You never know who you can trust when you are so far from home little orphan," he popped her in the side of the head twice which she thought was his form of patting and then sped off towards town in a blur.

She hopped quickly across the road and then trudged through the hotel lobby to the elevator. Luckily no one was around in the middle of the night so she did not have to awkwardly keep her mouth shut. When she got to the room she peaked inside first and waved Rai around. Alucard had made her wary of strangers now and she wanted to be sure none had crept into the room while she was gone. No one was there of course so she closed the door and put the chain on it. Alucard did not need to use the door anyway.

She quickly stripped out of her mud and blood covered uniform, pulled on an oversized shirt, and pulled her hair up in a bun. She was too tired for a shower so she fell into the cushy bed. She wondered if they would be leaving first thing in the morning or if Alucard would be sleeping all day. She hoped he would come home soon and go to bed so they could leave. She was tired of being away from Hellsing and her own room and all her things. It was the first time in her life that she had an actual home to go back to.

Before she fell asleep she wondered about what Anderson and Alucard had said. She had been sure that she did not need to fear Alucard anymore. Sure that he would not be draining her blood or killing her ever, but after Anderson had warned her he had called her his personal soldier. He said he would not dream of killing his personal soldier.

Cat wondered if it had any hidden meaning. Did he mean kill as in gone forever? Did he mean personal soldier as in future vampire? Her head was still spinning from being slapped against a tree and she could not think straight. She was being ridiculous and she was sure Alucard would know what she was thinking of when he got back.

She burrowed underneath the covers and fell asleep seconds later with her head at the foot of the bed and her feet propped up on the pillows.

* * *

Review!


	37. Euphoria

I had only planned their trip home to be about two pages but it just kept going and going  
WHEW Enjoy

**Euphoria**

Cat woke up strangely refreshed. She opened her eyes without moving and found she was in the same position that she had fallen asleep in. She wormed her way back to the top of the bed and looked at the clock. It was already ten in the morning. The room was still completely dark. Alucard had been sure to close the curtains tight when he arrived.

She kicked back the covers and slid off the bed. She looked at the spot where her head had been and was disgusted to find a large reddish brown spot. There must be more blood in her hair than she had thought. She grabbed a few clean towels out of the closet and immediately got into the shower. She stood in the corner of the shower waiting for the water to get warm and thought about the past night. Was there going to be a big report on all the bodies in the woods? Did Alucard get rid of them somehow? Surely some of the people that died would be missed, even monsters had friends.

Cat backed up underneath the hot water and nearly jumped when she saw the crimson flow wash over her. She closed her eyes and began to scrub.

Friends of monsters could be a problem. What if they wanted revenge on the people who had killed them? Was there such a thing as a werewolf zombie? She wondered if they could be raised from the dead like vampires. They probably could not be. It did not seem fair to become two different monsters in one life time. You got to pick one or the other; you could not have it both ways.

What was she thinking of! You did not get to pick at all. It was not something you chose to do it was something you were forced into against your will. People did not wake up one day and say, hey, I would like to become a monster today. They did not go out and find a werewolf and ask him or her to change them. People did not go out seeking vampires either, did they? Integra always said that killing them was doing them a favor because they had not chosen to be that way, but if they did not want to would they not have been able to resist better? Cat was around monsters all the time and she had managed to keep her self from being changed into something else. Maybe people wanted to be monsters. It was something out of the usual. In an ever changing world people had to find greater ways of entertaining themselves. People also had to find ways to make money or to live longer or to cure diseases. Being changed into a vampire would fix any health problems one might have, especially that pesky dying thing. What would it be like to live forever and never have to worry about running out of time to do the things you wanted?

"Oh it's too early I can't think straight!" she rinsed the massive amount of shampoo she had used out of her hair and turned off the water.

The room seemed to be extra quiet. The day before birds and bugs could be heard outside the windows and people could be heard buzzing around in other rooms and the halls. Today though, there were no sounds at all except for the hum of the air conditioner.

Cat sat down on the bed wrapped in a few towels and picked up the phone. She dialed room service and ordered breakfast for herself. She thought she should let Alucard sleep for a while longer before she asked him to take her home.

She began to dig through her bag for clean clothes and then opted for the hotel robe in the closet instead. She snuggled back into the covers of the bed and waited for room service.

What would there be to do now that the mission was over? It had been the first real thing to happen in so long and it would not have even happened if it was not for Anderson. If he had not let out information about Hellsing then the wolves would have probably just taken care of the problem themselves. Cat could see Anderson as a real problem. She could not have him trying to kill Alucard all of the time. It was hard enough to go out in public with Alucard or to get him to follow orders without craftily bending them, but with someone like him out there to fight it was impossible. Anderson was nice enough, but he was too demented for Cat's tastes.

Room service interrupted her thoughts of maniac priests and she took over the tray of food gratefully. She had eaten everything in the room yesterday and had not realized how hungry she was for real food until she smelled the eggs. She shoveled the first few bites into her mouth then chewed thoughtfully.

How long would she be staying at Hellsing? For the rest of her life she supposed. It was a job she was already good at and it was a home she was already fond of. It was even a family that she already favored over other people in the world. She was sure that when she turned eighteen the only thing that would change would be how much they worried about her. Now it was understandable that Integra wanted a close eye kept on her. It would be hard to explain the body of a sixteen year old girl in a Hellsing uniform to the Queen, but once she was eighteen she would basically be free to do whatever she wanted so long as she kept with her duties at Hellsing. She pictured herself at Hellsing forever, having birthdays there and growing older. Turning twenty and then thirty and then forty. She had never pictured herself growing older before and now when she did…she did not like it. She hated the idea of becoming older and older and eventually being as old as Walter and all the while Alucard would be the same. She would get old and wither away and he would see it like a picture show, in the blink of an eye to someone who time did not matter. She could not let herself grow old, she did not want anyone to see her like that and so the only option she had would be to….

"What is the matter with me," she chewed a piece of bacon absently, "I think it's time to go."

She shoved the tray of food away and reluctantly slid off the soft bed to find some clean clothes. Once dressed she fixed her hair and brushed her teeth and made sure everything was packed before she went over to wake Alucard.

She tip toed over to his coffin and pressed her ear against the lid. Sometimes she could hear him muttering in his sleep or even breathing which she thought was probably a habit that never died even if the body had long ago.

It was completely silent inside so she tapped lightly, "Alucard? Can you manage to get up so we can leave? I'm growing tired of this place."

She heard a mumble inside and the coffin lid slid open a second later. Alucard sat up and slumped over. His hair was unusually out of place and his eyes were still only half opened like they were swollen which of course they were not.

"You look terrible, what happened?" Cat cocked her head to the side and starred at him. He usually looked so meticulous.

"I over ate," he let the coffin drift back to the floor while floating in place. When it bumped lightly on the carpet he stepped out and closed the lid. The coffin sank down through the floor and was gone. Cat assumed it was going home.

"You ate more than one person?" she did not care that Alucard often ate innocent people, but it seemed wrong to eat more than one. Almost like eating multiple pieces of pie when it was not necessary.

"Oh yes, several," he lumbered over to the closet and pulled out his hat and coat. Then he sat on the floor and pulled his boots out of the closet as well. Cat had never seen him take his boots off before, let alone put them on. He smiled dreamily as he slid each boot on. After he laced them he hopped off the ground and clapped his hands together, leaning towards her and smiling even wider, "Well then, how shall we travel home?"

"You're in a state of euphoria. It is not as pleasant as I would have expected it to be," Cat eyed him narrowly and picked up her pack and gun case.

"Yes yes, come along," he waved her comment aside and opened the door, ushering her out.

Cat decided she may as well take advantage of his giddiness while it lasted. There was no telling when it would happen again or if it would happen again at all. "Might we take a plane home? Not a commercial jet, but a sea plane or something small like that?" she had always loved flying, but seldom got the chance because her Aunt had never had money for vacations.

"A little plane? Aren't you afraid it would crash? Most humans prefer big stable things," he smiled at a maid in the hall and she quickly ducked back into the room she was cleaning.

"Oh no I find them charming and you can tell that you're flying in them. It doesn't feel like you're just sitting in a car," she had only been on a plane twice, but it was enough to crave something more exciting.

"Very well then we'll take a car out to the sea and see if we can find a private plane to borrow," he pressed the L button in the elevator and the doors closed quietly.

"Will you be like this for very long? It's a little unnerving. I feel as if I'm being tricked into going with you," Cat looked up at him and grinned devilishly.

Alucard laughed wickedly, "You were tricked into going with me at one time don't you remember? I tempted you with optional freedom and you followed along obediently," the elevator doors opened and Alucard bowed her out.

"Oh, I knew you were lying, but what choice did I really have. If I had said no to that as well you would have probably picked me up and threw me in the trunk of the car. I'm surprised you did not do it sooner," Cat stood and waited as Alucard checked them out of the hotel. They walked out of the sliding doors in silence and Cat followed him to a black car. "This looks fast. Are you driving?" he opened the trunk and she tossed in her bags and hoped in the front seat.

"Of course I am, it would take all day to get to the coast if we have an old man drive us," he turned the key and the car roared to life. He waited barley a second before he backed it up with a screech and with another he peeled out of the hotel parking lot.

"Technically you are an old man Alucard and you shouldn't forget it," she looked over at him and he smirked, shifting the car into gear and going faster.

The three hour drive to the coast barley took one. They crossed over a bridge to a large island that had many docks full of schooners, yachts, and speed boats. As they entered the road that twisted around the island Cat could see sea planes speckled in with the boats. She pressed her hands and face up against the car window like an excited child being taken to the circus. She had always loved the ocean and boats, the sky and planes. It was all so much more interesting than riding in a car down a boring street.

Alucard drove almost half way around the island before he stopped in a small harbor. From the parking lot Cat could already see a bright red sea plane floating on the water. A man was sitting on one of its pontoons reading a skinny novel and sipping a bottled drink through a straw. His hair was a dirty blond and hung choppily just past his ears.

Alucard pulled the bags out of the trunk and started stomping down the dock. Cat skipped after him, enjoying the sparkling blue water and hot sun. She would have to plan a trip to the beach one day when she had time. She suspected that would be any time in the next month. Exciting things were few and far between.

As they got closer the man looked up from his book. The way he looked reminded Cat of someone, but she could not recall who. He starred at Alucard and casually sipped at his drink. When they got a bit closer he stood to face them.

"What can I do ya for friend?" he closed his book and shoved it inside his baggy jacket.

"The lady would like to ride a sea plane back to London," Alucard gestured towards Cat who had slipped off one shoe and was dangling her foot in the water.

"Would she now? To London aye, that'll cost you a pretty penny, but money wouldn't be a concern to someone of your status would it…_Sir_," Cat heard the sarcasm in the man's voice and peaked at him and Alucard from the corner of her eye. She had always found the way in which men did business so odd.

"Of course not," Alucard grinned widely and pulled a wallet out of his coat. Cat had only seen him actually use money once or twice before. Usually he just scared people into doing what he wanted.

The man counted the pile of money Alucard handed him and nodded in approval, "Right then, if you'll just step over here with me Sir I'll get her started up. You keep over there Miss, you don't wanna get smoke in yur pretty hair," he winked at Cat and she smiled. "Now Mr. I don't want any trouble, but seeing how you're payin me so generously I'll just ask for the sake of askin and pretend like I didn't hear whatever the answer may be," he paused and looked at Alucard.

Alucard nodded for him to go on.

"Now I seen my share of sketchy fellows and down right freaks bein a sea plane pilot and all so I know you ain't just some regular business man if ya get my drift. But I just gotta ask Mr. are you plannin on doin to that little girl whatever it is yur type of person does to pretty young ladies? I'd be mighty sorry to be takin part in anything like that," he looked at Alucard seriously.

Cat could not hear what the man was saying over the roar of the plane engine, but it was not very hard to guess. People always thought there was something wrong with a young girl traveling around with someone so sinister looking. Cat fancied that she could be more dangerous than Alucard in a way because he was under the control of Integra and she had free will. She giggled at the thought and decided she would have to mention it to him sometime.

"Ah, how endearing for you to be concerned, but you have misinterpreted our situation. The girl is not my captive, but my accomplice," Alucard grinned at him slyly and handed him a few more notes.

"Well that's a comfort to my old heart. How nice for a little girl to break such a taboo all on her own. There must be a lot more to her than her looks," he flashed a toothy grin at Cat and waved her over. "Come on now poppet, she's all warmed up and ready to fly," he opened a hatch and put the bags inside. "You get in first Sir and hand me that hat and goggles in there. Here you go poppet, fit this snug on your head and put them goggles over yur eyes. You don't want any foreign bodies flyin in 'em. My, aren't they a brilliant green! Only seen one other set of eyes like them in my life."

Cat adjusted the goggles over her eyes and was relieved to find they were not uncomfortable. Cat gave him a big grin with the goggles on, "And what is the name of our skillful pilot?"

"The name's Marco and yours?" he stuck out his callused hand.

"Katherine Deschain," she lightly shook it.

"Well Miss Katherine you hop right up in there in front of yur friend. It's really only meant for one, but you won't mind being a little snug will ya?" he gave her a boost up into the fuselage and she hunkered down in front of Alucard for the long flight.

"No I don't suppose we will," she snickered at the look of annoyance on Alucard's face. He was always bothered when she held onto him or was even too close. This must be nearly unbearable.

"Right then passengers! I'll just hop up into my seat and we'll be off! I haven't had anyone to fly around in such a long time. We'll stick to the coast mostly, I wouldn't want somethin bad ta happen and we not be able to make an easy emergency landin," he sat down in the cockpit and started pushing buttons and pulling levers.

"Have you ever crashed before Marco?" Cat was not regretting getting into the plane, but she wondered if they were to crash if Alucard could do anything about it.

"Oh don't you worry poppet only once! And it was cause some bloody bastard was shootin at me! I was in the World War ya know. Not officially, but lots of us with planes liked to take things into our own hands," he eased the plane away from the dock and turned it to face out towards the North Sea. "Hold on tight now!" he had to yell over the roar of the engine, "take off can be a bit rocky!"

"Let me sit up on your lap Alucard," she scooted back and pushed his knees down with her elbows.

"No. What for?" she looked at his face and was a little hurt at how disgusted he looked.

"I want to be higher up so I can see everything when we take off! Come on, hurry up!" she held on to the edges of their little compartment and lifted herself up so he could put his legs down. He did reluctantly and she perched herself on top. This gave her about eight more inches of height so she could see out over the plane and all around. She would be able to see the entire coast of England all the way home. The plane started to move forward slowly and then gathered speed. She turned to the side to look for a seatbelt, but there was not one. She turned to her other side to surely find one there and was shocked when there was nothing, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"What is it now?" Alucard asked exasperated.

"There isn't a seatbelt! Hold onto me," she snatched up his wrists and wrapped them around her waist not caring if he protested. She was not going to fall out of a plane because his blood high had ended. She crossed her arms over his to be sure he would not let go and braced herself for lift off.

Flying in the plane was more exciting than she had expected it to be. For the first hour she practically hung out the side of the plane watching the North Sea pass underneath them and the beaches and forests go by. Alucard had gone to sleep after ten minutes of flying, but kept his arms locked around Cat. She suspected that even if she tried to remove them they would not budge while he was unconscious. Not long after the first hour passed she became tired from holding herself so close to the side of the plane so she leaned back against Alucard and watched the clouds pass by. Once in a while they would fly high enough to go through a very low cloud. Everything would turn a misty white and she could feel the moisture dew up in her hair.

Before they hit the two hour mark Cat had fallen asleep. Her head lay comfortably back on Alucard's shoulder and his head had fallen over so his cheek rested on her forehead. She sleepily nuzzled the curve of her nose into his cold jaw line and sighed.

The pilot turned around to check on his passengers and he smiled at the strange sight, "Well isn't that a strange and enchanting sight to see. I suspect it to be out of character for the both of them, but the innocence of sleep brings out much deeper things. Even for something such as that," he looked at Alucard warily and wondered if he had been truthful. It would be a shame to see such a dear girl turned into a vampire child bride, but he was often wrong in his assumptions and they had gotten him into plenty of trouble in the past. It was best to just stay quiet and let things be how they would be.

He turned back around in his seat and pushed the plane to go a little faster. He wanted to arrive at the London docks before night fall.

* * *

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	38. Viviana

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ENJOY

**Viviana**

Cat tossed one way on the bed and then the other. She flipped onto her back and then promptly rolled onto her side. She pulled the covers up over her head and then changed her mind and kicked them off again.

Sleep just was not going to find her tonight.

She hopped down from the bed and pulled a thick robe on over her pajamas. The house was beginning to get colder at night and Integra showed no signs of turning on the heating.

"It's not even September yet we don't even need to think about heating until November," she had answered Cat about the heat briskly while she headed off to a meeting.

"Are you kidding!" Cat had called after her, "it's close enough to September! And it's frigid in here at night!"

She had tried to find a thermostat of some sort, but to no avail. She was beginning to think that there was no heating except for the fireplaces.

Now she walked down the long dark hall. She puffed a breath of air in front of her to see if it was visible, but it was not quite cold enough just yet.

"A few more hours and it will be," she shivered and pulled the robe up tighter around her. She headed down the hall and past Integra's office to the library. Reading a book in dim lighting would help her fall asleep faster even if it was freezing.

She walked into the dark library and paused for a moment to see if her eyes would adjust. They did not so she slowly crept into the vast room towards where she knew the couches and lamps to be. She felt the edge of the coffee table between the two leather sofas and scooted around it. Knowing where she was now she took a bolder step in the direction of the lamp and her foot caught on something solid.

"Damnit!" she hissed as she fell forward with her arms outstretched ready to protect her face from any sharp corners. Just before she finished her fall something cold and hard grabbed her arm and jerked her to the side so she fell on the soft cushions of the couch instead. She froze for a moment from shock and terror of finding out she was not alone, then she came to her senses and relaxed. She sat back against the pillows on the couch and reached for the lamps pull chain.

"What are you doing in here?" she looked over at Alucard as the light came on. He was not wearing his hat or coat and held a very tiny delicate looking book in his hand.

"The same thing you are doing in here Katherine," he looked at her and she thought he looked almost annoyed. It was not as though it was her fault he was sitting in the dark and she tripped. She wondered if it would be better to just go back to her room and read there.

"You're here because you can not sleep? Well I hate to tell you this, but it is the middle of the night and _you _can never sleep in the middle of the night. It is a symptom of the condition of vampirism and it can not be cured," she smirked at him and pulled a book out of a basket she had placed on the coffee table for just this occasion.

"You are mistaken. You are in here to kill time, not because you could not sleep. Humans can go to sleep if they really choose to. When one is up all night it is because they want to be up all night, very stubborn things you see," he looked away from her when she scowled and carefully opened his tiny book.

"What is that you're reading? It looks very out of place in your hands," she peaked at the cover of the book, but it had worn away ages ago.

"It belonged to someone I once knew a very long time ago," he delicately flipped a page to the book and sighed.

"Like an old girlfriend!" Cat giggled at him and hoped she was right. She knew that he had been a type of human once. Not a normal one of course. No normal man could change himself into something so terrible and stay alive for so long.

Despite their tendency to live forever Cat noticed that the world was lacking actual vampires. All the ones she had seen or heard of were very young things that got themselves killed very quickly. She wondered where all the original vampires had gone or if there were any left at all.

"They keep to themselves as real vampires should. It is most likely that you will never see another vampire that you are not required to kill," he crossed his legs and propped his elbow on the arm of the couch and rested his head in his hand.

"Integra doesn't make you kill all vampires?" she had not thought about it before, but maybe it was similar to letting animals that did not bother people live.

"It is precisely that. There is no need to waste efforts on things that do not interfere with us," he said it as though it should have seemed very obvious. Cat supposed it should have been, but she was still new to the world of story book things.

Cat decided to ignore his moodiness, "What kind of book is it?"

"A journal," he flipped another page and sighed again.

"Will you tell me about who owned it?" Cat had always enjoyed antique and old things. She figured it was why she was able to enjoy Alucard despite his obvious danger and often cruel behavior.

"I knew her when I was still in your state of being," he closed the book and covered it with his hands. "The day I met her I was twenty five years old and just beginning my second reign. I entered my mother's bedroom and she was dead. Next to her was the baby, covered in blood and shivering. She died in child birth and did not even have a third son to show for it. The midwives wanted to throw her out, so my mother could die with the pride of bearing only sons, but I would not allow it. A child who lay wet and shivering and still did not cry was a rare thing. I took her with me and I raised her. She was my sister, Viviana, and she was full of life," he looked at the journal in his hands and then handed it to Cat.

She carefully took it and cradled it, afraid the binding would disintegrate at her touch. "What happened to her?" she whispered.

"I kept her with me always, and when I died in 1476 I kept her with me still," he leaned back into the cushions to reminisce.

"You killed her?" Cat was a little shocked. He was finally speaking about something other than a gun fondly and then he adds in murder.

"No, you're misunderstanding," he shot her a look that would send a grown man screaming for his life.

"Well, why don't you explain it more," she tried to keep her voice soft to coax him into talking, but it did not matter either way. If he wanted to he would and if he did not she was out of luck.

"She wanted to go with me. She was so young and things were changing. There was nothing left for her in that life. She was not afraid of a death and then an everlasting life to follow," he resumed his relaxed position, starring up at the ceiling.

"And then what happened to her?" she whispered again.

"For two hundred and thirteen years we were together, and then she died again. After always being there I was finally too late to save her. It is interesting how things happen," he crossed his arms and put his feet up on the coffee table.

"How did she die?" Cat was enthralled. She had wanted to know about Alucard's past since she met him, but she never knew how to ask.

"Aren't you humans supposed to be discrete with things like this? If you asked another human about something as sensitive as death would you not be considered rude? Or cruel even?" he looked over at her but his face was not serious, only curious.

"Most humans I suppose, but you aren't human and death isn't a sensitive subject for you. It's really the _only_ subject come to think of it," she could not remember a conversation with him that had not led to some form of dying or killing.

He nodded his head in agreement and continued, "She left our castle one night just after the sun went down. She was upset with me and so did not see it fit to tell me she was leaving. After living with the same person for over two hundred years I suppose it is understandable for one to get angry over little things. She went to a town not far away to terrorize and feed on the inhabitants."

He paused for a moment and Cat noticed the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. Of course he would show emotion when he mentioned terrorizing humans.

"There was a man there who knew about us. He was like Van Helsing in many ways, but only a boy really. He had fashioned a crossbow to eject small pieces of wood that he had sharpened. He hid from Viviana and when she turned towards him he shot her in the chest. I knew immediately that she had been hurt and I traveled to the town as quickly as I could. I was different then, than I am now. Not as spectacular," he looked at Cat and grinned, "When I got there he had already pulled the small crippling steak from her and drove in a larger blessed one that had reached her heart. He stood over her like he was some sort of King, but his face fell when he saw me. I ripped off his arms and then his legs and tore his torso in half down the middle. It was no less than what he deserved. Viviana turned into a pile of ash and I collected her and buried her beneath the castle. I had hoped to find some way of rebuilding her, but I know now that that is impossible. It is too bad; she was a very interesting person. You are much the same as she was before she was turned. I believe you would have gotten on very well," he sat back up from his slouch and put his feet back on the floor.

Cat held the journal back out for him to take.

"Hold on to it if you like. It is not in English, but perhaps it will help you some day," he stood up and went over to the library window.

"How is it going to help me if I can't read it? And with what?" she followed him to the window and looked out into the darkness.

"You never know. There are things in your life that you can not see coming, just as there are things in the darkness that you do not see. But they come none the less and if you are not prepared they will smite you down and move on and no one will mourn for you're unprepared lost soul," he spoke the last part as a joke and Cat was relieved.

The way he had been talking she was beginning to believe that there was really something outside in the dark that was coming.

"Oh, but there is Katherine. I suggest you go get dressed and armed. They will be here any minute and if I am correct there are three of them. Older and more experienced than what you are used to, but still only children, and from the states as well. It seems word of Hellsing travels far and all want the glory of taking it down," he laughed insanely and headed for the door.

Cat stood for a moment shocked and then darted after him, "You mean vampires?! You let vampires get this close to the mansion! Why! Why would you let them get this far! Why would you even let them get into London! Does Integra know about this, have you even told her?"

"I am on my way there now. Hurry and get dressed, they will be here shortly. I will get Walter as well so he can look after you," he turned to look at her, but she had stopped in the middle of the hall and was starring blankly at the floor. Her thoughts were hidden from him yet again and he surveyed her with a puzzled expression. He took a step back towards her and clapped his hands together briskly, "Go get dressed!"

Cat jumped at the loud noise, and then ran past Alucard back to her room. She threw on her clothes without thinking and holstered her guns.

When she was ready she left her room slowly and walked down the hall at an even pace.

Vampires from the states? Who had gone to the states and let loose a rumor about Hellsing? There could have been a vampire that had escaped and traveled there to enlist the help of others, but it did not seem likely. Maybe it was a vampire that simply went to live in the states and happened to tell some others about Hellsing, not meaning for them to attack it, but just in casual conversation. Did vampires have casual conversations with each other? That did not seem likely either. It would probably always be a mystery.

Once Cat reached the library she stopped. Alucard did not tell her where to meet so she looked inside. No one was there so she decided to just head all the way downstairs to the foyer. She began to turn the corner to get to the stairs, but saw Alucard come out of Integra's room down the hall. She stood and waited for him and then followed him when he passed by her and went down the hall to the stairs.

They walked in silence for a while until Cat became curious, "So what exactly is going on?"

"I've told you already," he sounded excited and Cat was sure now that he had known they were coming and let them get so close to toy with them and to have a thrill.

"Yes, but it doesn't make much sense. Why would vampires come all the way from America just to attack Hellsing?" she hurried behind him as he took the stairs three at a time.

"How would I know that? Perhaps they just wanted a bit of fun," he laughed and glided down the last of the stairs.

"Can't you read minds? Just read their minds and find out who sent them!" Cat was becoming frustrated. It should be a priority to find out why they were here. She highly doubted it was just to have some fun.

"I only read minds when I care to. I do not care why they have come; only that they have and now they will pay," he stopped halfway down the second stair case and looked up at her, "this is taking too long," he snatched her arm as soon as she was in range and dragged her body close to his. He wrapped his arms around her quickly and sank down through the stairs and to the foyer.

Cat felt the quick burst of freezing air whooshing past her and then the burning she had felt the night the werewolves attacked. It was over even quicker than before and Alucard let go of her before they had even reached the floor. She fell about three feet and gracefully kept her balance when her feet hit the floor. She was thankful for this sudden grace. It would have been very embarrassing if she had fallen flat on her face.

She glared at him as he drifted slowly to the floor, "A little warning would be nice next time."

"Warning does not change what is going to happen or how it is going to feel. It only causes anxiety," he touched down onto the floor then headed for the door where Walter was peering through the peep hole.

Cat opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again when she realized he was probably right. She walked over to the front door to peak out with Walter. Alucard simply put his whole face through the door.

"Can you see them yet Alucard?" Walter moved aside so Cat could take a turn at the peep hole.

"Oh yes, they're moving very fast. Whoever sent them here did not give us much credit. They actually think this will be a stroll in the park. How wonderful it will be to see the looks on their faces when I rip off their limbs," he pulled his head back through the door and leaned against the wall to wait.

"What are you standing there for?" Cat had assumed they would go out to meet the intruders and fight them safely away from Hellsing, "Are you waiting for them to ring the door bell?

"Precisely," Alucard said smoothly and not three seconds later the bell made its grand series of dongs.

"Well how polite of them to ring. Shall I answer it Alucard or would you like to do the honors?" Walter pulled his gloves tighter over his hands as he spoke.

"Why don't we let Cat answer it," he snickered at Cat, who had backed a good seven paces to the side of the door.

"It is not proper for a lady to answer the door in the middle of the night," she stuck her nose in the air and tried to look prim.

"I don't see a lady anywhere in this foyer. Answer the door and try to look cute," he faded away so only his toothy grin and eyes were floating by the wall.

"Of all the rotten things to say…," she glared at what was left of his face and made her way to the door.

"Don't be frightened Katherine, if they try anything Alucard and I will be sure to get you safely out of the way," Cat looked at his hands and saw the shimmer of the thin wires.

"The only thing I am ever frightened of Walter, is the prospect of being forced to live with Alucard for ever," she felt a flutter in her stomach, but ignored it and reached for the door. She straightened herself up to look taller and pulled opened the heavy oak doors.

Three vampire men stood at the door. The one in front, who Cat assumed was the leader, had long blond hair that was almost white and was loosely tied back at the base of his neck. He looked to be about six foot two and from under his clothes Cat could tell he was muscular. He wore clothing that looked as though it was from the early 1900's, but his shoes were brand new Nikes. The man who flanked him on the left was considerably shorter and stouter than the blond man and he wore much more modern clothes. Cat made a note not to underestimate him because he was smaller for he also had muscles and they were much larger than the first man's. He had a thick neck and his hair was buzzed to just an inch long. The man who flanked the blond man's right was as tall him, but had a much fairer face. His hair reached to just above his shoulders in soft black curls. He wore the same style of clothing as the first man as well, but much simpler. His shirt was white, flowy, and unbuttoned nearly half way down his chest. It was tucked loosely into his pants which were black and fit snuggly against him. He wore black square toed boots that had a square heel on them. They reminded Cat of pirate boots. The man reminded her of a younger Alucard though she had never seen any paintings of Alucard when he was young. She was sure this is what he would have looked like. She stared at the third man the longest. When he met her gaze she snapped back to attention and realized what they were here for.

"Can I help you?" she asked coyly.

"Why yes you can my dear. We are looking for the vampire Alucard. Might you go and fetch him for us, my sweet, so we can palaver?" the blond man flashed a dazzling smile and if Cat had not been so used to vampiric charm she might have swooned on the spot. Instead she surveyed him for a second longer, and then popped back inside to see what Alucard wanted to do. He reappeared his body and nodded for her to let them in.

"The vampire Alucard has decided to grace you with his presence," she almost giggled, but managed to keep her face straight. How could she be so calm in a potentially life threatening situation? "Please come in a make yourself _comfortable_," she waved them inside and shut the door. She hoped they would become too comfortable so it would be easier to slaughter them. It would be a shame though to see something so pretty go to waste.

The three men walked forward warily a few paces and then turned around to be pointed in the right direction. The blond and stout man's face's showed slight surprise at seeing Alucard standing at the door, but the prettiest one's face stayed as smooth as polished marble.

"Good greetings to you gentlemen," Alucard bowed deeply and smiled, "What a wonderful night for a palaver."


	39. The Incite of Adrien Renard

Enjoy.

The Incite of Adrien Renard

Alucard lead the men through the foyer and turned down the hall at the back of the house. About half way down the hall he stopped and a door swung opened. He waved the three men inside and then motioned for Cat and Walter to follow.

Once in, Walter took what Cat assumed was his usual place at the back of the room. The three vampire men sat down on a long couch and Cat sat down on a shorter couch across from them. Alucard quietly closed the door and sat down next to Cat. She looked at him, then at the men, then back at him. They all stared intently at each other. She wondered if they were simply having the conversation mentally and pouted. It was not fair to be invited and then left out like this.

"_No conversation, just menacing stares."_

She looked over at him, but his mouth was still. She wondered why he ever bothered talking at all if he could do that to people.

"_Only you my dear."_

"Shall we begin then good sir?" the blond vampire took out a pack of cigarettes and pulled out one that looked hand rolled. He popped it into the corner of his mouth and lit it.

"Why don't you start by telling me a little bit about yourselves," Alucard crossed his legs and leaned back into the cushions.

Cat took this as a hint that it would be a long discussion so followed suit.

"Right then, my name is Alec Thorne. This here is Elijah Luxford," the stout man nodded his head, "and this is the talented Adrien Renard," the fair man nodded and Cat realized he had been keeping his eyes on her.

She met them, as any one should when being challenged, and then scooted nearer to Alucard.

"As you surely already know we have come from America," he smiled boastfully, but Alucard did not humor him with a smirk or any other facial expression.

"And how exactly did you get from America to here?" he stayed in his relaxed position and looked uninterested.

"A private jet," Alec smiled even more boastfully, if that was possible.

"How discreet," Cat looked at Alucard's face and thought it looked a little disgusted.

"Well, the elders of our group have been around for quite a while. No where near as long as you have, of course. But as I'm sure you know, when someone is alive for so long they can not help but collect some money," he smashed his cigarette butt in the ash tray and lit another.

Alucard raised an eyebrow at the word elders and gave Cat a sideways glance. It looked as though he was mocking the man.

"So getting down to business, there is a group of us in America. I would say it is about twenty strong right now and growing slowly every day. Our oldest elder is three hundred and is the one who thought of the clever idea. It seems he was tired of hiding all of the time and wished to be known amongst humans. America is growing more and more free spirited these days and we all agreed that soon there would be nothing that will shock the humans there. What we plan to do is obtain enough vampires so we can place at least two in each state. You know of the states correct?" Alucard rolled his eyes and nodded, "Very good I thought so. Once we have placed these individuals they will begin to recruit willing humans to become vampires. You would be very surprised to learn how many of the younger citizens there fancy the idea of vampires. There are books and movies all about them and these young adults are just crazy about it all. Some of them even dress up as the vampire stereo types when it is not even the Halloween holiday! It is positively divine I tell you. So anyway, our precise plan is to begin to create more and more vampires and of course they will all be kept in line. Any individual who shows signs of going blood or power crazy will not be turned. We are aiming to create a race of vampires that can walk freely through the streets, be known as a vampire, and be widely accepted by most people. We understand that there will always be people who do not accept it just as there are people who do not accept religions other than their own, but we do not see this as much of a problem. We will just be another race of creatures that make a start in American like so many before us," he crushed his second cigarette and sat back to watch for Alucard's reaction.

Cat was in awe. She could not believe this man was so stupid that he actually thought Alucard would take his plan seriously. Did they really think they could just come here and Alucard would leave with them and that would be that! They must think that Hellsing and the mansion belong to Alucard and that he is of his own free will. That could be the only explanation for how stupid they were being. Cat looked over at him to be sure his face showed the same disgusted expression as hers, but it did not.

Alucard chuckled and sat up straighter on the couch. He smiled at all of the men and then chuckled again. He stood up and grabbed Alec's hand and began to shake it with both of his. His chuckle turned into a laugh that quickly escalated into something maniacal.

Alec looked confused and a little afraid, but he managed to smile and return the handshake, "So then you like our idea? And you will come with us to America and help our cause?"

Elijah and Adrien stood up next to their companion. Cat could see that Elijah was fooled by Alucard's boisterous laughing, but Adrien was not. His hand inched slowly around to his back and rested there. He shot Cat a look that could have been taken as a warning or that of curiousness. She was not sure.

"Oh my dear American friends, I believe you have been away from our glorious island far too long. You are beginning to become silly like the Americans. How pitiful that you have come here seeking my help as clueless as you are. It will be great fun destroying you," he continued to shake Alec's hand as he spoke, but Alec quickly pulled it away. His face and the face of Elijah dropped into a grimace, but Adrien's stayed as it had always been. Calm and wary.

"I do not understand. We thought that you of all people would want vampires to be known! You have lived in hiding for so long, do you not wish to be free?" as any smart man should when in the presence of Alucard, Alec and Elijah began to back towards the door.

"How little you know! How little you understand! Fifty years of being suspended in time has done nothing for you! Your elders, as you call them, have sent you here unprepared. Perhaps one day I will make a visit to them and inform them of their mistakes," he reached for his guns and Cat reached for hers.

Elijah lunged for the door first and Cat saw Alec throw him a look of contempt. He froze where he was and watched as Alucard shot off Elijah's legs. Elijah screamed in pain, but continued to drag himself towards the door. Gray wispy shadows, nothing like Alucard's thick black shadows, began to feather out of what was left of his legs. Cat thought that if he was given enough time he could regenerate them, but to do so so slowly was not much help unless you were only fighting humans.

Cat drew her gun and pointed it at Alec just as Alucard did. Before she had a chance to pull the trigger something sharp hit her arm and her gun flew into the air. A split second later she saw a blur and found herself with her arms pinned behind her back and a knife, or maybe it was a sword, to her neck.

"Move another inch and I will cut her throat," Cat could not see the look on Adrien's face, but Alucard looked the way he always looked. Disconnected and bored.

"What makes you think I care about her?" he smirked and playfully twirled his gun around his finger.

"Don't you?" it was not much of a question, "Is she not your soldier? Did you not vow to others and to yourself that you would protect her? It would be a shame to lose something that could prove to be of much use to you in the future. More use than just fighting monsters other than you," he trailed off and Cat could imagine him smiling.

Alucard scowled at him for a moment and seemed to consider things. He glanced over and saw the coat tails of Alec slipping around the corner, "I have other things to attend to. The human can take care of herself." He turned around and walked out through the door. Cat heard a close gunshot and knew it must be Elijah. He would not have a chance to grow his legs all the way back.

Cat felt the grip on her loosen, "But I was sure he would stay and save you. How curious that he shouldn't."

She took the opportunity to elbow him in the stomach and dodge out from under the knife. Once she was clear Walter, who had sunk deep into the shadows until now, used his wires and yanked the knife out of Adrien's grip. Cat watched his face for shock, but he only looked mildly surprised and not even at the fact that his weapon was taken away.

"Why do you suppose he did it?" Adrien looked at Cat and then over at Walter.

"What are you playing at, Vampire?" Walter tightened his wires over his gloves.

"Playing at? Well nothing really, I'm only asking you a question which you seem disinclined to answer. Tell me girl you must know why he would leave you. Perhaps it is a trick," Adrien spun around and peered at the walls of the room like he was expecting Alucard to pop through one.

"I don't understand what you mean. Alucard always leaves me. Why are you so surprised that a vampire would leave a human?" Cat backed towards her gun and leaned down to pick it up, all the while keeping her eyes on Adrien.

"Ahh, let me explain. You see, your vampire is not the only one with special talents. If you Hellsing's would leave a vampire alive long enough you would find that after a while they develop special abilities. Elijah can regenerate himself to an extent, Alec has the talent of persuasion which I find utterly useless, and I have the talent of sight," he turned back around and faced Cat.

"What kind of sight?" Cat backed away farther and raised her gun.

"Many sights. Things that were," he began to step backwards and Cat matched his steps, "things that are," he moved closer towards the back wall and Walter began to move in on him as well, "and some things," he stopped with his back against the wall and looked right into Cat's eyes, "that have not yet come to pass. I could tell you of them my darling child, but then what fun would it be to watch your face when they do come along?" he winked and held his hand up in the air. The knife flew across the room and he snatched it out of the air seconds before he sank backwards through the wall.

Cat fired a shot, but it was already too late, "Shit! Come on Walter!"

They raced from the room and headed for the foyer. Cat saw a quick glimpse of white just before the front door slammed shut. She ran to it as fast as she could and threw it opened, but Adrien Renard was already gone.

"Let us pray that we do not see him again," Walter closed the door and sank down onto a chair.

"I don't think he was all that dangerous Walter," Cat re-holstered her gun and sat down beside him.

"He had a knife to your throat! Have you gone daft with shock?" Walter took out a handkerchief and dabbed his forehead.

"Yes I know, but I think it was only a show. As soon as Alucard left he loosened his grip, and didn't you hear what he said? It was very odd. I think his agenda here was different than that of his friends'," she stretched her feet out in front of her and yawned. The clock started to dong and she counted up to four.

"Do you think we should go and find Alucard?" Cat stood up and looked at Walter unenthusiastically.

"No I don't think that will be necessary. Get off to bed," Walter stood up as well and shoed Cat away.

She stomped up the many stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. As she reached for the handle she paused and stared at it. Its usual silver sheen was gone and it looked oddly dark. She looked closer and thought she could see a reflection of someone behind her. She gasped and whipped around, but no one was there. She looked back at the door knob and it looked the same as usual.

"Maybe I have gone daft from shock," she pulled the door opened and entered her room. It was almost too dark to see so she went over to draw the curtain. When she turned around she had to mash her hand over her own mouth to keep from shrieking. Alucard was sitting on top of the trunk at the end of her bed. "What the hell are you doing in here?!"

"You did not even see me when you walked in. That is a bit pathetic. What if I had been Adrien?" he stood up and walked over to her.

"Adrien is probably half way back to America by now. You should have seen the way he ran," she skirted around him and picked her pajamas up off the floor and headed for the bathroom. She hoped he would leave, but he followed her to the door.

"What exactly did he say to you?" she closed the door in his face and he leaned against it.

"Oh I don't know. He said a lot of things. Why don't you just pick my mind I can't recite it all," she took her clothes off as fast as she could and threw on her pajamas. Alucard was silent for a minute and she had the sickening feeling that he really was picking it out of her mind. She tried to open the door, but he was still leaning against it. "Get off the door would you?" she pushed again and it popped opened. He was sitting back on the trunk again.

"Very interesting," he eyed her and she felt like the tips of her hair were tingling.

"Is that all you wanted to know?" she walked over to her bed and climbed into it and pulled the coverers up to her chin.

He twisted around on the trunk and looked at her, "What do you make of it?"

"I don't make anything of it. He can see the past, present and future. Something handy if you want to black mail someone, but not good for much else. And anyway, I can tell the past and present, so it's really just the future he's got going for him," she knew that what Adrien meant was that he could tell everything about everyone's past and she assumed everything they were thinking and feeling about the present, but she did not want to tell Alucard. She was worried he would twist it into more questions.

"That is also interesting," he stood up and walked over to the side of the bed.

"What is?" she looked at him and tried to hide her horror at the thought that he may have just read her mind.

"Nothing really," he picked at a piece of lint on his coat.

"Have you reported to Integra yet?" she hoped that he had not so she could tell him to leave without being rude.

"Yes I have. She is very worried about Adrien's escape. I told her it was your fault. Do you think there is cause for worry?" he reclined back and floated in the air.

"Not really. I think he was here on some other business besides recruiting. He probably doesn't even care you killed his friends," she pulled the blanket up over her mouth.

"Do you wish for me to go?" he looked at her with an expression of false hurt. She was not sure if he meant to make it obvious that he was acting or if he was just a terrible actor.

"Do you not wish to go?" two could play at that game.

"I do not care either way. Are you afraid that Adrien will come for you while you sleep?" he concentrated on rubbing a dark spot off of his sleeve instead of looking at her.

"I'm not afraid of most things. Least of all that, I've already said I don't think that was his plan at all," she rolled over on her side and closed her eyes until they were barley opened so she could peek through her lashes.

"I will stay near enough so I can hear you scream if it comes to that," he floated across the room to the door.

"I don't understand you at all Alucard," she was drifting to sleep now and her voice was slurred and thick.

"There are a lot of things you do not understand. You will have to wait for them to reveal themselves to you in time," he floated through the door and down the hall back to his coffin to sleep until dusk.

* * *

You've not seen the last of Adrien Renard

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thaaaank you muah


	40. Fancy

This is a short bit. Sort of like a transition chapter I guess. I plan for the next chapter to be long so there may be a bit of a wait.

Double Enjoy

Fancy

Two weeks passed by quickly since the American vampires came to Hellsing. Cat felt as though it would not be bad if Adrien did come back and make an attack. Things were down right boring now that it was getting cold outside. Even evil did not like to show its self in the frigid air. Cat had asked Alucard why there were fewer vampires in winter. Why did it matter if it was cold out when they were dead?

"There are fewer people, I suppose. I don't know, go bother Walter," he had shrugged and walked off towards his room, though it had been four in the afternoon.

Today Cat was curled up underneath the thick covers with a book. Integra still had not started running the heat and Cat had taken to walking around the house fully dressed in winter clothes. She made a trip to the mall to buy a pair of heavy winter boots for the snow and a pair of more stylish ones for the house. She had also gone back to Oxford St. by herself and bought a winter wardrobe. It went much faster than the summer one had gone. You did not have to think about clothing that was covering your whole body as much as you had to think about shorts and tank tops.

She had nearly drifted completely to sleep when there was a knock on the door. She jumped at the noise and looked at the clock. It was only two in the afternoon and Alucard never knocked anyway.

"Come in Walter," she kicked the covers off and stretched before she hopped onto the floor.

Integra slowly pushed the door opened and peeked in, "Did I wake you?"

"Oh hi! Not at all I was just reading," she noticed that Integra looked nervous and she was clutching a letter in her hand, "come on in."

Integra slid through the door without opening it further. She looked at it for a moment trying to decide whether to close it or leave it opened. She finally decided on the former and held the handle until it was shut so it would not make a click. She walked slowly over to the trunk in front of the bed and sat down.

"Is there something wrong?" Cat eyed her warily. She had seen people look like this before with letters in their hands. Her most vivid memory was that of her Aunt and a police officer coming to the house when she was little and excusing the baby sitter. Her Aunt had looked scared and the police officer held a letter in his hand that was wrinkled from him clutching it.

"Not exactly wrong. Do you remember the letter I got a couple months ago? About a party?" she opened up the letter and stared at it.

"Yes, I remember. You looked worry then, too. What's the big deal about a party?" Cat dropped down to the floor and stretched her legs out.

"It isn't just a regular fall season party. I mean, it is a fall party and the Queen has it every year," Cat interrupted her.

"The Queen?! The Queen invites you to her parties! Well what in the world are you nervous about! That is just about the coolest thing I have ever heard! Do you know how many girls would kill to get an invitation to the royal parties?!" she jumped up onto her knees and was shaking her fists with excitement.

Integra held up her hand patiently and waited for her to calm down then continued, "This years party is in my honor," she saw Cat about to burst out again and quickly continued, "I'm being forced to get married," she dropped her eyes to the letter and waited.

"Ew," Cat sat back down on the floor and looked at her.

"Ew? Is that all?" normally people ranted about how they either agreed or disagreed. Such a short response caused her to lose track of her normally prepared speech.

"Well yes, there isn't much else to say about being forced to marry. Except of course, why you are being forced to marry," Integra realized that she should have known Cat would not react like everyone else. Had the girl reacted to anything that had happened to her in the past four months like any normal person would? The fact was, she barley ever reacted at all, she always waited for an explanation before she made any judgments.

"Do you understand the terms of which Alucard is bound to Hellsing?" she flipped the letter over and over in her hands.

"I suppose I don't," Cat tilted her head to the side and waited.

Integra looked up slightly shocked. For being so inquisitive it was strange she had never asked Alucard about it, "Well he is bound to my family line by blood. In laments terms, if there is no family line, then he can not be bound. As I'm sure you realize, he can never be allowed free reign, so if he is not bound to Hellsing he must be destroyed and Hellsing would ultimately cease to exist. It is my duty to produce an heir and to do so I must be married. I do not go out gallivanting around so the Queen saw it fit to play match maker and has chosen a husband for me. She did pick more than one should I not like her first choice, but I suppose it does not really matter."

"Well of course it matters. You should try to like them. If you try hard enough you'll find something you like and then it won't be so awful when you sleep with them," she waved her hand at the surprised expression on Integra's face, "oh come now, you know all the kids my age are doing that. Even some of the younger ones do and they all gloat about it like it's such an accomplishment."

"Do you…?" Integra trailed off.

"Do I?! Of course not! I barely leave this house, who could I possibly be doing that with. It's silly to think about," she gave Integra a scolding look.

"Well I do not know anything about children or teenagers. Lucian seems to like you and there was that other boy, Colin I think? I found it barbaric how they fought with each other," she crossed her legs and leaned her elbows on her knees.

"Yes, it was rather sad. I never did anything with either of them. I still fancy Lucian, but I don't really know in what way. I suppose I fancy him the same as I fancy Pip," she looked up at the ceiling and tried to decipher how exactly she felt.

"You fancy Pip?" Integra leaned forward like it was an important secret.

"You don't? He's very handsome and charming when he wants to be," Integra looked at her like she was weird, "Oh don't look at me like that! You must fancy _someone. _Come on and tell me! If you don't I will have to assume it is someone you shouldn't fancy."

"What is that supposed to mean? I don't have to fancy anyone," she sat up straight again and looked prim.

"You do have to fancy someone. Everyone always fancies someone. But it's ok you don't need to tell me. I know who you fancy," Cat sprawled out on her back on the floor.

"Who is it then? If I did fancy someone I would fancy someone that no one would ever think of," she looked at Cat, curious to know who she was thinking of.

"You fancy Wa…," someone knocked at the door and Cat sat up quickly.

Integra's eyes widened to the size of baseballs and she covered her mouth.

"Come in!" Cat spun around and sat against the bed post trying to look casual.

"Miss Cat, I've brought you your laundry basket. It seems one of the maids became ill and she left it down stairs on her way out the door," Walter pushed the door opened with his foot and set the basket down.

Cat barley managed to stifle her laughter, "Oh thank you _Walter _you didn't have to." She looked up at Integra who was turning red. Her eyes were squinted into crescents and were beginning to water.

"What ever is going on in here?" Walter eyed Integra then looked at Cat.

"Nothing _Walter_," Cat could not contain her laughter any more. She fell over sideways onto the floor and laughed until her stomach was sore.

"I do say, women are so very odd. I will be downstairs if anyone needs me," he walked out and closed the door behind him.

"Oh how could you!" Integra stood up and threw her now crumpled letter onto Cat's head.

Cat struggled to sit up between gasps for air, "I…didn't…say…anything!" She fell back down on the floor to laugh some more.

"It isn't even true so stop your giggling!" Integra sat back down on the trunk and tried to hide her smile.

Cat finally managed to sit up and looked at her, "I know it isn't Walter, but I have an idea who it might really be."

"Let's have no more of this game. I fear it could go too far in a matter of seconds. Let me tell you what I really came to say," she stood up and walked across the room to the armoire. She pulled the tall doors opened and sighed, "I would like you to go to the fall ball with me. It will be nice to have someone there that I am not forced to be friends with."

Cat walked over to the armoire and looked in. It was full of beautiful dresses of various colors and sizes. She was speechless and could only reach out and touch the gowns on their sleeves.

"There should be about five or six in here that will fit you. I was very close to your size when I was sixteen, though maybe a little bit taller. That should not matter much though if we put you in heels," Integra began to pull out dresses and look at them.

"This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me," she looked at Integra and considered hugging her, but thought better of it. "Thank you, Integra. You're a good friend."

"Oh don't get soft on me now. You're going to be shocked at how brutal these balls really are. You're going to be thankful to have a vampire for a date," she laughed and pulled out a black and red dress with a large diamond pendant in the front.

"Alucard is going?" Cat smoothed out the dress she was holding and pushed it back into the armoire.

"Of course, he goes every year. He comes in handy at private events. No one dares crash a party when he is one of the guests," she walked to the bed and laid the black and red dress down. "This was one of my favorites."

"I suppose he would come in handy. I hope he can dance, I'm not going to stand against the wall the whole time at my first royal party."

And with all said and decided about the fall ball, Cat and Integra spent the rest of the afternoon looking through the dresses and trying to pick one that would fit well and look nice. Integra went to her room to get the dress she was planning to wear and she put in on for Cat and paraded around the room. Cat finally decided that the red and black dress would look best on her and that it was fate that it fit so well. At around five o'clock they heard the bedroom door opened and rushed from the bathroom mirror thinking to show Walter what clothes they had decided on. To their surprise it was not Walter, but Alucard who stood at the entrance to the room. They both turned a bright red and quickly rushed back into the bathroom. Alucard began to chuckle and it quickly turned into his maniacal laugh that they knew all too well.

For the rest of the night he could be heard throughout the house erupting into bouts of laughter that would fade into snickers and then chuckles and finally icy silences that never lasted long.

* * *

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	41. The Ball

I put a picture of Cat in her dress on her myspace. The link is in her bio.  
I was going to make this all one chapter but when I hit page four I realized it was going to take too long and I couldn't go to bed without posting something.  
Enjoy and review like there is no tomorrow  
for you never know.

The Ball

"Would you hurry it up we're going to be late!" Cat paced back and forth in front of the bathroom door waiting for Integra to finish her hair.

Integra opened the door and gave her an exasperated look, "Would _you _calm down? We have plenty of time to get there and it wouldn't matter if I was late anyway. I'm the guest of honor remember?"

"That is exactly why you can not be late! Plus, you have to get there early for your entrance and I want to get a good spot to watch," she shook out the bottom of Integra's dress and stepped back to look at her, "You look absolutely splendid."

"Oh hush, you look very nice yourself," Integra blushed. She had thought she looked a bit ridiculous in the puffy blue dress.

"Now that I look at the clock I suppose we do have plenty of time. Do you want to go wait downstairs? I can't think of anything else to do before we leave," Cat shifted her weight from one leg to the other and back again. She was nervous and excited about going to the Queen's ball and she wanted time to go slower and faster at once.

"Yes, that will be fine," Integra made for the door then turned around, "Why don't you go check on Alucard. I worry he will purposefully forget about things and go to sleep. He's done it before," she pulled the door opened and followed Cat through.

Cat walked to the end of the hall and took the back stairs that led to the bottom floor. She turned down the short hall that led to Alucard's room and stopped at his double doors. They always looked so ominous and cold. She considered knocking, but decided that since Alucard never knocked on her door he did not deserve the gesture. She pulled one of the doors opened and looked inside. Like always, the door quickly shut once it was let go of. She was never sure if it was the air rushing up from underground or if Alucard had fashioned them to do this.

Now it was pitch black and she had neglected to bring a flashlight. Turning back to get one would be pointless so she hiked up the bottom of her dress so she would not trip and began taking small steps down the stairs. She counted twenty six steps to the bottom then slid her foot out to be sure she was right. Once before she had counted the twenty six steps and, without checking, took a large step forward assuming she was on the ground. She had toppled over three more steps that Alucard had added for just such an occasion. After she had picked herself up whimpering from skinned knees he had lectured her on not expecting what was usually expected.

Tonight there were no extra steps and she walked slowly forward looking for his chair and coffin. After she had taken the usual fifteen steps it took to get there she reached out and found that they were missing. She sighed and looked around out of habit though it was too dark to see at all. It felt as though the blackness was pushing down on her eyes.

"Alucard?" she called out and hoped that he was down here and her efforts had not been wasted.

"Ten more paces forward and three to your right," his voice cut through the dark like a loud drum.

Cat walked three steps to the right and took ten more extra large steps forward. After the seventh one she knocked into something solid, "You said ten."

"I meant ten paces for you, not me. You must not always think to compensate for your shortness," he snapped his fingers and a glowing orb popped on above their heads.

Cat looked up and saw he was just finishing the knot in his tie. Tonight it was a regular tie and not the funny bow like usual. He wore a black suit with tiny red pinstripes and a red silk shirt. His tie was black silk and his shoes were square toed and very shiny. His hair was longer than usual, but he had slicked it back into a low ponytail, which Cat always liked to make fun of. All in all he still looked exactly like Alucard except for no coat and funny hat.

"You look dashing," she smirked as he pushed the knot of the tie up around his neck.

"You look like Integra did in that dress, but shorter and with muddier hair," he flicked her in the forehead and walked towards the stairs. The ball of light followed him and Cat had to trot close to him so she could still see the floor.

"Have you been to many balls?" she hiked up her dress once again and stomped up the stairs one at a time. She was quickly left in the dark by Alucard who took them by threes.

"Yes, many," he snapped his fingers and the orb of light disappeared, leaving Cat in complete dark.

"Do you enjoy them," she decided to continue at the pace she was going and if she fell it would be too bad.

"Hardly," he swung opened the doors and some light fell onto the stairs so Cat could make it up the last few steps easily.

"Then why do you go to so many of them?" she stepped up the last stair and huffed.

"Because it is what my Master requires of me and what ever she requires I am inclined to do," he turned and walked down the hall that led to the foyer.

"Right, of course," Cat jogged after him and slipped her arm around his just as they rounded the corner. She smiled just in time as Walter popped seemingly out of no where and snapped a picture with a very old looking camera and flash bulb. She blinked a few times to get rid of the little purple lights dancing in front of her eyes then looked at Alucard. He was scowling worse than she had ever seen before so she dropped his arm and skipped off to sit with Integra who was waiting by the door.

"He does look very nice doesn't he?" Integra surveyed her undead servant and nodded in approval.

"Yes, but perhaps if he smiled just a bit it would make a world of difference. If he keeps that face on the entire time the ball will surely end early," she tucked her dress underneath her and sat on the floor.

"I don't think that would be so terrible," Integra chuckled and stood up.

"I think it would be dreadful! This is my first ball I don't want it to end early," Cat struggled to get up and reached her hand up for assistance. A hand that was much too large and strong to be Integra's pulled her swiftly into the air and dropped her back on her feet.

"Once you are there you will quickly change your mind and wish that a series of unfortunate events will end the tedious dancing and false smiles to people you do not know," Alucard made a face of disgust as he remembered balls from the past.

"You all are so pessimistic, I bet things are going to be wonderful," Cat smiled as Walter took another picture of them just standing around.

"Group together now, I want a picture of the three of you," Walter held up the camera and waited for them to situate themselves comfortably.

Cat pressed herself between the majority of what was now her family and looped her small arms around their waists. She looked at Integra to be sure she was smiling and figured that it would be useless to ask Alucard to smile because he never would. She looked up at him anyway to see what he would look like and nearly choked at the horrible face he was making.

"Can't you just look normal!" she turned back towards the camera in time to smile as Walter clicked the picture.

"You wanted me to smile, did you not?" he smiled at her again, but much less menacingly as he had in the picture.

"I wanted you to look nice, not like you were anticipating bloody carnage and an early night supper," she rolled her eyes and pulled opened the front door.

"Perhaps that is what I am anticipating," he patted his side where he normally kept his guns then frowned.

"Ahh, that's right! You aren't allowed to take your precious guns to the palace. How sad for you," she danced out of the way as he made a swing at her head.

"Now you two settle down. I don't want to introduce a heap of clothes that used to be Katherine to the Queen. She would not approve," Walter opened the car door and Integra ducked inside.

"The Queen?!" Cat hit her head on the top of the car as she was getting in.

"Yes you dolt, we're going to _her _ball, did you think she was going to be away?" Alucard slid in next to her and pulled the door shut.

"I knew she was going to be there, but I didn't know I was going to be meeting her! What am I going to say! Does she know who I am already? Does she know what you people make me do!?" Cat began to twist the hem of her dress in her fingers.

Integra slapped her hands away from the dress and sighed, "Honestly Katherine, you people? We don't make you do anything and the Queen already knows the situation. You are to be introduced as an apprentice student learning to rule a generic corporation. Very few people know what Hellsing actually is so the introduction is for their sake and not the Queen's. If you don't calm down I'm going to throw you from this car."

Cat had her thumb in her mouth and was chewing at it vigorously. It was a habit she had formed after she was told her parents would not be coming back.

"You act like meeting the Queen is more nerve racking than facing a hungry vampire," Alucard scoffed at her.

"I would rather face a vampire any day. They don't care what I look like or how my manners are and I don't ever have to see them again. If they make me feel uncomfortable I can put a bullet through their heads, but this is the Queen! She's going to judge me!" she dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

The car pulled out of the drive way and turned down the street that would lead almost directly to the palace. Cat had hoped the ride would be much longer, but it only turned out to be twenty minutes. She managed to calm herself considerably and told herself that if she was the Queen she would want people to act very normal around her and not as if she was special. She would still be polite, but she would not worry about making any sort of impression. The Queen would probably not even be there the entire time. She was getting old and old people did not like to stay up until midnight.

Cat looked out the window as the trees flew past and the sky grew darker. It was nearing 7:30 and Integra's entrance was supposed to be at eight on the dot. She hoped they would make it in time to be settled in the ball room so they could properly watch her. Integra's blue dress reminded her of Cinderella and she fancied the idea of her running away at midnight. Unfortunately the only prince like image she could put into her mind was that of Alucard. She did not know what Sir Alexander looked like so Alucard was the only other option for a princely image.

Alucard laughed audibly and she threw him a dirty look.

"What is so funny?" Integra looked away from her window. She looked confident, but nervous at the same time.

"Nothing, Alucard is just stupid," Cat had taken to calling him names and making fun of him since she knew he would not do anything about it. She suspected that one day she would grow tired of just name calling and would start to shoot him. It was not as though it would hurt him very much.

At this thought Alucard laughed even louder, but it was more a laugh of approval than that of malicious humor.

After a torturous twenty minutes of smooth car ride the palace came into view. It was beautifully decorated with round white, yellow, orange, and red lights on strings. It was the picture of fall herself.

Cat bounced up and down in her seat as the car pulled into the driveway. She tried to peer into the castle windows, but they looked like frosted glass and only let out the warm glow of the lights. Rather than stop at the front doors the car continued on down the driveway to the side of the castle. It stopped in front of a set of doors and two women came out and quickly opened the door.

"Move aside move aside!" they waved Alucard and Cat to the other side of the car and pulled Integra out, "You're late Miss we don't have much time!"

Integra managed a short wave before she was whisked through the doors by the over bearing women.

The driver did not bother trying to turn the car around and backed it up down the driveway. He expertly turned the wheel and backed it right in front of the doors. Cat waited a second to see if anyone would come out and open the doors for them, but no one came so she swung it opened herself and stepped outside.

A brisk wind greeted her and she shivered, "It's freezing out!"

Alucard closed the car door and stepped up beside Cat, "I think it's nice."

"Ha-Ha. Shall we go in then?" she rubbed her arms and hopped up and down.

"As you wish," Alucard offered her his arm and she took it tenderly.

They walked in through the doors and slowly down the hallway that led to the Queen's ballroom at the back of the house. Cat could hear all of the other party guests chattering and laughing. She heard the clinking of champagne glasses and the soft sound of strings playing in the back ground. She looked up at Alucard as they walked and blushed when she realized how well they matched. He looked down and met her gaze, but did not smirk or say something snide like he usually did. A memory flashed through her mind and she looked at his face harder, trying to make out all the details and match it to her memory.

"Alucard, you knew my parents for quite some time?" she looked back ahead at the oncoming ball room.

"Yes, I knew them before you were born," he continued to look down at her and try to pick out what she was getting at. Her mind was locked on something else as he had found it to be so much more often now.

"And when I was born, for that five year when they were still alive, did you ever see me? Did we ever meet, even for a moment?" her forehead wrinkled as she strained her mind to go far back into the past.

"Yes, I saw you, on more than one occasion," he faced forward again as she looked up at him.

"And you never thought to tell me this? When you came to retrieve me or any time after, you never thought to mention how you knew them and that I had met you before?" she bit her bottom lip and tried to recall a time when she had met a strange man in a park.

"No, I did not," he stopped a few feet before the entrance of the great room.

"But why?" Cat faced the sea of people and closed her eyes. The memory was so feint and it was slipping away quickly.

"I was waiting for you to ask," he took her hand and led her into the mass of glittering ball gowns and smooth black tuxedos and towards the middle of the room in front of the stairs that Integra would shortly ascend.

* * *

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	42. The Ball Part Two

This took forever  
Enjoy  
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The Ball Part Two

Cat was dragged into the mass of people wide eyed and wondering. They parted for Alucard to pass, but much less than she would have expected. She supposed that people of their status were so used to being treated with as much respect as one would show the Queen that they forgot what Alucard really was and saw him only as another person who was rudely pushing through them.

She shoved this random thought from her mind and tried to focus on what had just happened. She had seen Alucard before, they had met on more than one occasion, she remembered his name being spoken when she was small, and she had a dream like memory of the park. All of this information would have to do for now. She would not have time to ask him more tonight.

As they neared the center of the ball room Cat could see the Queen sitting on a jeweled and very well guarded chair. There was a procession of people bowing and curtsying to her and she in turn nodded her head or gave them a small smile and wave. She did not quite look bored, but she did not look like she was having much fun either. Cat noticed her gaze flick to the stair case once in a while. She assumed the Queen was also excited for the guest of honor to make her entrance.

Once at the center of the ball room Alucard continued on dragging her through the crowd, "What are you doing? I want to be in the middle so I can see her well."

"You must meet the Queen first, she has been waiting," Alucard pulled her up beside him and put her hand in the crook of his arm.

"I thought Integra was going to introduce me!" Cat walked beside him politely and tried to look small.

"Integra is going to be busy taking care of her self tonight. You've been left in my charge," he took the spot at the end of the greeting line and ambled along without much care.

Cat took a deep breath and held it. She tried to take notice of how the other guests were greeting the Queen. All bows and curtsies with a polite smile and their heads bowed. She would just do this and nothing more. The line was moving more quickly than it had been before. Or perhaps that was only her imagination being sent out of whack by all of her nerves. Before she could think another thought she was standing in front of the raised platform the Queen's chair sat on.

"Your Majesty," Alucard dropped his arm away from Cat's hand and bowed, "It is a pleasure to see you again. May I introduce to you Miss Katherine Deschain, Special Forces soldier of Hellsing."

Cat gulped and made the smoothest curtsy she could manage while looking at her shoes. She thought about saying something, but chickened out and held her tongue.

"Nice to meet you Katherine. A very queenly name. Raise your head so I can get a good look at you."

Cat stood up straight and looked at the Queen.

"Ahh, yes, you look very much like your mother. I am glad to hear that you have the same knack that she did."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Cat managed to stammer out.

"Don't look so petrified child I am only a human just as you and everyone else. Not quite everyone else I suppose, but you know what I mean. I can not tell you how many young girls I meet that are so paranoid of being seen as slobs they do not speak a word! Such a pity that women have grown so shy and feeble after so many years of working through oppression. Thank goodness for women such as Integra and your mother, very strong and regale women, do try and be less of a mouse next time I see you," the Queen waved her hand and a man quickly brought her a drink.

"Yes your Majesty," Cat stood up straighter and laughed.

"Go on now and get a good spot for watching Integra come down. I dare say this may be the only time you get to see her like this. Except for the wedding of course," the Queen winked and took a sip of amber liquid.

Cat made another curtsy much less stiff then the last one and walked back towards the middle of the floor.

"Now that was not so bad was it?" Alucard walked beside her and chuckled.

"It was dreadful and I'm glad I never have to do it again. I would like to see her again though. She's much funnier than I imagined," she stopped in front of the stairs and scooted up close to the people in front. From discomfort of closeness they unconsciously scooted over little by little until she had a clear view of the stairs. She peeked down at a man's watch and saw it was just striking nine.

No sooner had she looked up a trumpet started to play. It, and a few others, blasted out the common tune you would hear when someone was making a grand entrance. They stopped abruptly and a more subtle piece began to play on the strings. Then Integra came into view at the top of the stairs. Cat heard a few people inhale sharply at the sight of her. The jewels on her blue dress looked like ice crystals and shimmered in the light of the chandeliers. She took each stairs carefully, not looking at anyone in particular and smiling a carefully planned smile that had been practiced to stay on her face the entire night. Once she was at the bottom she curtsied to the crowd and made a quick glance in Cat's direction. Cat wrinkled her nose and smiled.

Integra took the planned path towards the Queen and curtsied to her before turning around to face the crowd.

The Queen slowly stood up and cleared her throat, "Though many of you know her already, I present to you Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. If everyone will please clear the center of the Ball room, quickly quickly please, yes thank you. The first dance will go to Miss Hellsing and Sir Alexander Hunton." The Queen sat back down and waved her hand at the pianist so he would start playing.

Cat looked around to see where Sir Hunton would come from, but he seemed to appear out of no where. He looked older than Integra did, but not so old that he had wrinkles. Perhaps he was around forty and as with most men he had probably grown better looking with age. He politely bowed to her and she curtsied and offered her hand. After that they both swept onto the dance floor and began a well practiced waltz or maybe some other dance, Cat really was not sure.

She leaned up against the wall her and Alucard had been ushered over to and sighed. It would be nice for Integra to have someone to help her with all the work Hellsing made and someone to talk to when no one else understood what she was feeling. Though she probably would not bother talking much to him at first. Cat was eager to ask her what she thought of him and hoped that they would not be dancing all night. She frowned and supposed they would be or they would be talking or maybe just sitting in each others company. That was the whole point of the ball, to get to know her husband to be.

After a few minutes of them dancing alone on the floor other guests began to join them. Cat had not noticed before, but there were quite a few young people at the ball. She could see many young boys easily, but the girls were harder to make out. They blended in well with the older women, they wore the extravagant puffy dresses and their hair was up in intricate curls and fancy knots. They had more makeup on than Cat had worn in her entire life, combined, and they carried themselves around like they were royalty. She scoffed as she watched a girl who could be no older than her curtsy to an older man and take a glass of champagne from him.

Soon the dance floor was full of guests and everyone was chattering naturally and laughing boisterously. She glanced up at Alucard and saw he had busied himself with a shadow that he was balling up and stretching like it was a piece of taffy in his hands. She looked back down at her feet and sighed as loudly as she could, but he did not look down.

"_If he doesn't ask me to dance in the next five minutes I'm just going to leave. I thought this was one of the main reasons he had to come, to be my date. It isn't as though vampires are going to attack tonight and there are plenty of guards if some crazy people attack. This is stupid I look like a freak standing here next to him I bet everyone thinks I'm weird. This is high school all over again what a great way to start the night. I know you can hear me, why don't you ask me to dance," _Cat thought in her head.

"_Why haven't you asked me to dance? This is the 21__st__ century, must men still do everything?"_

"_It's still polite for men to ask them women, especially in the Queen's court. And you aren't a man anyway."_

"_Do you see that woman over there? She's by the table with punch, near the Queen's left side."_

Cat glanced over to the punch table and saw a lady in a violently purple dress and a feathery peacock hat.

"_Yes I see her. Is she starring over here?"_

"_Yes, she is thinking about asking me to dance. You should learn from her."_

"_Learn from HER? She looks terrible. I'm sorry but she looks like a hooker. I don't know who told her that dress would look nice, but they should be shot."_

"_She had that dress made. It is her own design. She tells everyone she has a conversation with about it. The Queen is the only one who told her it looked terrible."_

"_What else is she thinking? Her face looks…odd."_

"_You don't want to know what she's thinking. It isn't appropriate for little girls."_

"_I am not a little girl and I've seen far worse things than the interworking of a hookers mind." _

"_Well you can use your imagination then. She wishes you would go away. She thinks you are my clingy child with no mother to have taught you how to be independent from daddy. She isn't far off."_

Cat looked up at him and glared, _"She's completely far off! She isn't even in the same universe! You seem to like her so why don't you go and dance with her. She would probably like it that you're a vampire. You could eat her and she wouldn't even notice. She's probably full of blood disease."_

"_Would it make you happy if I danced with her? Ah, she is coming over, you better decide quickly."_

"_Of course it wouldn't! I don't want to stand here by myself."_

"Would you care to dance?" he stuck out his hand for Cat to take.

Cat glanced over and saw that the purple nightmare had stopped dead in her tracks, "Yes I would." She took his hand and they walked through the people onto the dance floor. They made their way to the middle where Integra was still dancing and took a spot next to her. Cat looked at her and smiled and she smiled wearily back.

Cat had never been especially good at dancing so she followed Alucard's lead across the dance floor. They swayed carefully back and forth and twirled in loose loopy circles. She enjoyed the rhythmic flow of the classical music and soon found herself in a robotic trance. Back and forth, to and fro, a spin here and a twirl there, a dip to snap her out of her stupor.

She clutched his arm in surprise at being leaned back nearly to the ground, but then she remembered it would be impossible for him to drop her like a normal boy might. She relaxed again and could not help looking up into his face and smiling. She frowned when she saw he was not looking at her. On the contrary he was staring at someone else. She turned to see who he was so concentrated on and was not surprised to see it was Integra who was also rhythmically spinning and swaying with not much excitement.

"You could just ask to cut in and then I could dance with Sir Hunton if you want," before she had a chance to finish her sentence he had already begun to dance closer to the couple to be.

Once they were close enough Alucard cleared his throat to get Integra's attention, "May I cut in?" He addressed Integra rather than Sir Hunton which is what would have been proper, if you were human.

Integra looked at Sir Hunton and he nodded at her and smiled, "Of course Alucard."

Sir Hunton passed her over to Alucard and Cat was left to stand and watch. She glanced at Sir Hunton to see if he was going to ask her to dance, but he was staring intently at Alucard. Cat sighed loudly.

"Oh I am dreadfully sorry! Would you care to dance?" he bowed and held out his hand.

"Yes, thank you very much," Cat took his hand and smiled. They danced quietly for a moment while Sir Hunton continued to stare after Alucard and Integra who were swaying away from them.

After a deep sigh he looked back down at Cat, "So you are the girl that lives in the mansion with the monsters."

"Indeed I am, but it is just one monster unless you are insulting Integra," she narrowed her eyes at him in mock anger.

"Oh no I would never dream of it. This is the first time I have seen her, but I must confide in you that I do fancy her. You won't tell will you?" he winked at her.

"But isn't that the point? For you to fancy her I mean. I don't know much about arranged marriages, but the idea sounds ghastly. I mean to spend the rest of your life with someone you have only met once! What if they are terrible?" Cat found it easy to look Sir Hunton straight in the face while she spoke to him. He seemed very kind and close up he was very handsome.

"Do you find me terrible?" he made an over exaggerated frown.

"Oh no, not at all. I find you quite charming. But if one was to be set up with someone terrible I do think it would be unbearable. Tell me Sir Hunton, do you know what day you will be married?" Cat looked over at Alucard and Integra and saw that she was laughing at something he said.

"No the Queen will decide that and Integra has not yet informed her of her decision. She does have more than one suitor to choose from you know," he looked confident in himself.

"Had she informed you yet?" Cat looked at him coyly.

"As a matter of fact she has. She told me she saw no point in seeing any other suitors because it would only make her feel like she was picking cattle. She also told me I was the sexiest man here," he grinned and it stretched across his entire face showing bright white teeth that were aligned perfectly.

"She did not! She's never even admitted to fancying anyone I highly doubt she could even manage to speak the word sexy," Cat laughed out loud, "Let alone say you're the sexiest man here, I think that's a bit vain."

"Can I ask you a question? One that I do not wish anyone else to hear of," he looked down at her seriously.

"Yes I suppose," Cat looked up at him puzzled.

"What of the vampire?" he nodded his head towards Alucard and then turned so Cat's back was to him while she spoke. She assumed he thought this would keep Alucard from listening in, but she knew better.

"What do you mean what of him?" there were a thousand things that could mean and Cat hated it when people were not specific.

"Well…where exactly does he stand in the Hellsing Organization?" his dancing slowed down and little wrinkles formed in the corners of his eyes.

"I suppose you would call him the chief…weapon. That is really the only way I can think to explain him," Cat did not think this was what Sir Hunton was looking for, but if he wanted to treat her so delicately he could just struggle for an answer.

"Um…let me just go ahead and say it, I hope you will not be offended. Is he in love with her?" he cringed at the word love.

"In love with her!" Cat said it louder than she meant to, but no one turned around, "Oh dear, is that what has you worried? That your future wife has a vampire servant that might be in love with her? Or maybe even that she may fancy him back? I do suppose it is a tough thing to not fancy him, but that is only glamour and centuries of learning how to charm someone. NO, Alucard is no more in love with Integra than he is with a vegetable."

"Are you quite sure?" he looked slightly relieved, but still skeptical.

"Yes, I have never been more sure in my life. Love has nothing to do with it. Sure he has a connection to her that goes deeper than simply being enslaved by her blood line, but it is nothing to worry about," she smiled at him reassuringly.

"I suppose we shall see," he looked over at Alucard again.

Cat laughed, "What exactly does that mean? You sound as though you have something planned."

"Yes! An elaborate plot in which I will steal all of your secrets and then run away to Switzerland where no one can touch me. It has taken some time to organize," he laughed along with her and started to dance towards Alucard and Integra.

After some maneuvering around other guests on the dance floor they finally managed to catch Alucard. He had not looked at them once while they were making their way over, but Cat was sure he had been moving away from them.

"Might I cut back in Alucard?" Sir Hunton bowed nicely and smiled.

Alucard just grunted and passed Integra back to him.

Cat reached out for Alucard, but he took her shoulder and guided her into a boy who had been hovering at the edge of the dance floor. The boy jumped at the chance to dance and took Cat's hands and led her away. Cat watched Alucard go though a door that was hidden behind some curtains. She decided she would dance for a few minutes with the boy to be polite and then follow him.

When she looked back at the boy he was staring at her oddly. She smiled in hopes he would realize his rudeness, but he did not seem to notice. He had a dumb look on his face like he might start drooling any second.

"Will you excuse me? I must go find my friend," she walked away from him without looking back and went straight for the door. She checked around her to see if anyone was watching then ducked quickly behind the curtain. She thankfully found the door unlocked and proceeded through. On the other side there was a hallway that was only lit by a few candles and then a set of stairs on the side. She decided to take the stairs in favor of the light she could see at the top. They led to a door which she went through and found herself in another hall. She walked to the end of the hall surveying each door then picked the one that had no light coming out from under it. It was completely dark inside except for the French doors that were opened across the room. A sheer curtain was hung over the entrance and it fluttered in the wind. The moon lit up the rectangular opening and Cat could see Alucard's silhouette fluttering just like the curtains in the wind. She crept slowly towards the window and pushed the curtains aside.

"How did you know where to look?" Alucard leaned back away from the balcony and sat down on a wicker chair.

"Oh you know, a ladies intuition," she sat down in the chair next to him and looked up at the sky. It was clear of clouds and you could see almost every star. A gust of wind blew by and Cat shivered.

"Put on my jacket," Alucard picked up his jacket from the arm of the chair and tossed it at her.

"Thanks," she put it on and shivered again when the inside was just as cold as the wind.

They sat on the balcony in silence for a while before Cat became curious, "Is there something the matter? You seem off."

"What do you mean off?" he looked at her and scowled.

"I don't know you just seem different than normal," Cat looked at him and shrugged.

"You have only been around for five months how would you know what normal for me is," he looked back at the moon with a sour expression.

"Well then you're acting different from the way you've been acting for the past five months. Why don't you just tell me it's not like it will make a difference," she looked at him and pleaded in her mind.

"You humans are so nosy. You always want to know everything about someone else when it is none of your concern. And you are exactly right it will not make a difference so what is the point of me telling you anything?" he raised his voice slightly at the end and Cat stared at him with a mild humor.

"No need to snap it was just a question. Maybe it will make a difference. Or maybe it won't. Either way I still want to know and it is obvious something is wrong," she kept her voice cool and smooth, a trick she had learned from him.

"How do you feel about that scrum the Queen picked out?" he looked back over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"So that's what this is about! You're jealous! You know he asked me about you, he was worried you were in love with her. I told him you were no more in love with her than with a vegetable," Cat curled up into a ball and rested her chin on her knees.

"Yes I heard all of that. How were you so sure?" he looked at her intrigued.

She was startled by the question for a moment then smiled, "Because you have been a vampire for many centuries and any heart you had crumbled away long ago."

"Walter thinks you should go back to school, but I think you are smart enough already. I heard what else you said to him and it is true in a sense. You put more weight on it than I would have, but maybe that will keep our new master in line," he crossed his arms and lounged further back in the chair.

"What do you mean new master? He won't have control of you will he?" Cat became worried, but she could not fathom why. Sir Hunton was a perfect gentleman and there was no reason he would order Alucard about without good cause.

"He will have some degree of control. He will not be able to order me to destroy myself or to do harm to someone I don't think deserves it, but he will be able to order me to the basement or to stay in a certain place. Very menial and annoying things. You may think it will be interesting having someone new live in the house, but you will soon tire of it."

"It will be fine and we'll still have some time before he moves in. I doubt they'll be getting married tomorrow. I suppose this means you will be a slave for another generation. Does that make you sad?" Cat kept her eyes on the moon as she asked.

"Sadness is an emotion that goes along with a heart and I have no heart remember? Did you think that she would never have children and I would be free to go?" he looked at her skeptical.

"I guess a part of me did think it. I just don't fully understand why you can never leave," Cat sighed and looked at him adoringly.

"You may never understand or you may understand sooner than you think. One can never really tell the future," he looked back at her and saw Viviana's face.

"I guess one can't, though it would be very helpful. You can in a way can't you?" Cat shrugged off his jacket and gave it back to him.

"Only when it is concerning myself and deals with something alive or living dead. I know what they are thinking and I envision my own future which is usually not far off," he stood up and slid his coat back on. "Come now, Integra is looking for you."

Cat stood up and gave one last look to the moon, "This night feels very familiar. The breeze, the moon, a balcony, I do hope this doesn't turn out like the last party I was at."

"Not to worry my dear, I don't see it in the future," he guided her through the doorway and closed the doors behind him.


	43. Engaged

Ive been having trouble thinking up ideas so it would be nice to have some thrown out at me. I'd hate to have to give up the story, Ive grown rather fond of it.  
Enjoy

Engaged

Cat followed Alucard back down the stairs and out onto the dance floor. She inhaled the warm air that was full of the scent of alcohol and perfume and sighed. The night would be over soon and she would be able to crawl into her comfortable bed and fall asleep content. She smiled up at Alucard and she was treated to a reluctant, but genuine, smile back. She savored the rare moment and watched him walk back to his place against the wall.

"Katherine!" she heard someone urgently whisper. She snapped out of her daze and looked around. Integra was standing by the punch table waving her over. She glanced back at Alucard one last time and saw he had seated himself in a chair and was listening to some lady chatter at him, and then she proceeded towards the punch table.

"Where have you been I've wanted to talk to you," Integra eyed her suspiciously.

"Alucard disappeared somewhere so I went to find him. He was on one of the balconies," Cat spooned some punch out into a cup and took a sip.

"Oh, well I'm quite tired of dancing, will you find a table with me and talk. Sir Hunton is very clingy, but he seemed to be taken with you so I think if he sees us talking he'll leave us be," she led Cat over to a secluded table and sat down.

"So what exactly do you want to talk about?" Cat took another sip of the punch and made a face. She looked into the cup trying to figure out why it tasted funny.

"Anything will do, why don't you start, you're good at it," Integra propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her hand.

"How do you like Sir Hunton?" she sipped the punch once more and cringed, "But first, what is the matter with this punch? It's bitter and kind of burns."

"It's full of scotch," Cat sputtered a mouth full of punch back into her cup, but Integra did not take much notice, "He seems fine I suppose. Like I said before, I would not get married if I did not have to, but I suppose since I do have to it might as well be to him. At least he is not loud like some of the younger men the Queen picked. Being a bit older doesn't bother me much. It only means he'll be all the more help with paper work and things like that."

"I guess so if you look at it that way. I liked him very much and he has a sense of humor which I think is important," Cat moped up the spilled punch with a napkin and smiled, "He likes you enough to be concerned about Alucard."

"Concerned of what?" Integra looked at her with genuine confusion.

"Oh come on now, I know you know what I'm talking about. What do you think he's concerned of!" Cat pursed her lips.

"I have not the slightest idea," but she had started to blush.

"Don't worry, I reassured him that there was nothing to worry about. I said that Alucard had an attachment to you that was simply a master servant kind of thing. He worried that Alucard loved you, but I reminded him that it was not only ridiculous, but impossible. It is very hard to love someone when your heart disappeared so long ago," Cat sighed and looked across the ballroom at Alucard. He was still sitting by the chattering lady, but he was watching her and Integra.

"Did he believe you? I don't think I could handle any fights in my house," she slumped in the chair.

"I think he did for the most part, but you know how boys are. He'll probably always be looking over his shoulder to see if Alucard is sneaking up behind him with the butt of his gun raised and a burlap sack draped over his shoulder," Cat twirled a piece of hair around her finger.

"What!?" Integra nearly jumped out of her chair.

"What? Don't be so jumpy you'll give yourself a stomach ache. Anyway, when are they going to announce it?" she pulled on a carefully crafted curl and watched it spring back into place when she let it go.

"Soon I suppose. You and Alucard can leave after that if you'd like," Integra shuffled her shoes around on the floor.

"You wouldn't mind? I am getting kind of tired and not to mention bored. I thought that a ball would be much more exciting," she swirled the punch around in her cup and took another taste of it.

"You haven't been dancing or talking to anyone except Alucard, of course you're not having fun," Integra stood up and Cat followed.

"I like Alucard. I think he is nice when you get to know him differently," she picked a cookie off the snack table and nibbled the edge.

"Nice? I'll have to talk to him about that. What is it you talk about?" Integra inquired.

"A lot of thing I guess," Cat sighed.

"What were you talking about in the library the night those American vampires came?" Integra pick up and cookie as well and took a bite.

"About Viviana," Cat looked out at the crowd and nibbled her cookie.

"Who is Viviana?" Integra looked at her perplexed.

"Oh…," Cat thought quickly, "this girl I used to know when my parents first died. She was my only friend, but she moved," she took a large bite out of the cookie and avoided Integra's eyes in hopes her lie would suffice.

"Oh," was all Integra said and took another bite from her cookie.

They stood quietly for a while and watched people in the ball room shuffle around and chat with each other. Outside had grown dark by now and the lights in the ballroom had been dimmed to set a more relaxed mood.

"I think the Queen is about to announce it," a deep voice spoke behind Integra and Cat.

They twitched with a start at the unfamiliar sound of it. Not smooth and sinister like the voice they were so used to hearing sneak up behind them, but raspy and warm like someone who would always be glad to see you no matter what mood they were in. Cat turned around and smiled and quickly pinched Integra's arm so she would erase the scowl on her face.

"Hello again Sir Hunton, I'm sorry to have been coveting the company of your soon to be bride. How have you been since we last spoke," Cat smiled at him again.

"Oh I've been dandy. A bit bored, but that's to be expected at such a boring ball. Oh dear! Have I said that aloud? It is much less boring with you ladies around as I suspect my life will very soon be," he placed his hand on the small of Integra's back and smiled endearingly.

"I hope you're right," Cat scowled, "The house has been so boring lately it needs a change."

"Come along then Sir Hunton, the Queen is calling us over," Integra started walking towards the Queen and tugged Cat's arm so she would follow as well.

"Oh please Integra call me Alex or Alexander if you must, at the very least. You as well Katherine, being called Sir Hunton makes me feel so old and I will not have it until the true Sir Hunton is no longer with us," he offered his arm to Cat in a fatherly way and she took it and walked with them to the front of the ballroom.

"I suppose I could call you Alex. It's much less tiring than Sir Hunton anyway. Are you nervous for the announcement?" Cat looked up at him and frowned.

"Oh no of course not, I'm very excited. Why do you ask?" he looked down at her and tried to hide the expression she had already noticed on his face.

"Your hand is all clammy and you're shaking a little," she winked at him, "I won't tell anyone if you call me Cat rather than Katherine. Katherine is such an old name as well."

"It's a deal," he comically wiped his hand off on his pant leg and shook hers.

Now they were to the Queen's platform and she called Integra and Sir Hunton to stand up on either side of her. A server handed her a crystal class and a fork and she stood up and gently tapped on it. It made a tiny dinging noise that could barely be heard over the chatter. Cat saw the Queen sigh and then noticed she had turned her attention to just above her head. Cat turned around and saw that Alucard had come to watch the announcement. He smiled at the Queen and stepped up onto the platform next to her.

He opened his mouth and bellowed out so loudly that the chandeliers could be heard shaking, "The Queen demands the party's attention!"

The entire ballroom went silent immediately and Alucard bowed to the Queen and stepped back down.

"Thank you Alucard, you're such a help to an old woman. Now then, I would like to make the announcement of the engagement of Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing to Sir Alexander Lionel Hunton. They will be wed exactly two months from now on this very date in the court yard. I will now retire to my room and the ball will continue for as long as the guest would like," Cat watched the Queen lean over to one of the guards, "Have them all out of here by two," she whispered and then bowed her head to the guests and left.

Alucard made a huffing sound like he was choking back a laugh, "Now that that is taken care of might we leave?"

"If Katherine would like to leave then you may go as well," Integra stepped down from the platform and braced herself for all the guests that were headed towards her and Sir Hunton.

"Come along Katherine," Alucard took a hold of her arm and started to pull her through the crowd towards the exit.

"What if I wanted to stay longer!" she protested, but continued to let him pull her along just the same. The truth was she did want to leave. She was tired of standing around watching people get drunk and dance with strangers. She would much rather be in the library looking up things that were none of her business.

Once outside Alucard proceeded to pull her down the driveway and haled a cab rather than wait for the driver to come pick them up. The cab driver looked terrified when Alucard opened the door to get in, but he also took notice of where they were coming from and how they were dressed. Alucard told him the address and he sped off down the road cutting off a few cars as he went.

"Why didn't you tell me that Integra didn't know about Viviana?" Cat looked up at him annoyed.

"You did not ask me," he stared out the window and looked bored.

"Well I shouldn't have to ask things like that! I said something to her about it and then had to come up with a lie just in case. I mean I assumed you don't want everyone knowing otherwise she would have known already. I hate to lie," Cat slumped in the seat and frowned.

He smirked at her, "But you are so good at it."

She huffed and looked away from him and out the window. She had more important things to think of right now. She needed to think up questions she could ask him about why they had met before. She would not have thought anything of it, but her dreams would not allow that. It did not seem out of the ordinary to have met someone your parents knew when you were small and then to know them when you were older. It was completely plausible to know Alucard since she had gone into the same line of work. It was normal that she had met him at least once when she was small because her parents had known him. It was unavoidable in fact, so why did she feel like there was more to it then just a coincidental meeting?

She stared out the window and thought about it until she fell asleep. She awoke again when she felt herself being lifted from the car and carried up stairs. She did not bother opening her eyes or moving. She would let him carry her to her room and put her in bed. Tomorrow or maybe the next day she would ask him more questions about it, but tonight she was much too tired for inquiries about the past.

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	44. Seras Who?

A short bit to satisfy the needs of certain people. If you have any specific ideas about Seras that you would like to see written out DO tell me because I had not planned to write her in at all, but I can see how much so many people love her and I gave in. As always, review and be honest, I do so love readying what you have to say.

Seras Who?

Two days had passed since the ball and Cat sat quietly in the library by herself looking through all the books she could find that were very old.

She had woken up that morning earlier than usual and decided it would be a good day for research on vampires and other various things that no one really talked about. She had hastily dressed and went straight to the library to be sure no one was in it. When she found it empty she hurried to the kitchen and made a quick breakfast that she horked down on her way back up the stairs. She had gone to the very back corner of the library because it looked the dustiest and started pulling the most tattered books off the shelves.

Now she sat flipping through one of the smaller books. It was one specifically on vampires and she found it the most informative so far. Another book she had liked was one that had been about many different nightmare creatures, some of which she had never heard of before. It had given bios about them and lists of strengths and weaknesses. The words were typed like any normal book, but it curiously had no author or publisher. The front simply read in gold letters _A Helpful Guide to the Unknown. _It had been slightly helpful in giving her information about the general characteristics of vampires and werewolves, but most of it she had already found out for herself.

The page she was on in the smaller book was giving various opinions about vampires and what makes them what they are. In the table of contents she had seen the word _Souls _and had flipped to the page that it had numbered. So far it was the most interesting thing from any of the books. The debate it was mentioning was whether vampires had souls or not. She read the passage quietly to herself:

"_A fact that has always been debated is whether vampires have souls or not. Most people who are aware of the existence of vampires believe they have no soul. They think that the soul resides in the blood of humans and if a vampire had a soul of its own then it would not need to drink blood. The vampire's veins are dry of its own blood so souls can not exist there. It fills its veins with the blood of others, therefore stealing their souls. The souls it takes can not live in the foreign body so perish quickly and the vampire must feed again. The opinion that I am in favor with is the one that they do indeed have souls. A soul is what animates a body. It gives it life and movement and thought. If the vampire had no soul it would not be so much like a human. It is the type of soul the vampire has that makes it so different from humans. After all, the vampire was once no more than a human with a soul just the same as yours or mine, but when the human took on the life of a vampire the soul it possessed changed into something different. It turned black and hollow. The bad attributes of the human doubled, tripled, even quadrupled! Vanity became over bearing, lies became more sinister, gluttony turned its attention to a different meat and greed became the most powerful of all. Yes, my dear reader, a vampire has a soul, this you can be sure of. You must fear the vampire, but you must fear its soul even more, for when you vanquish a vampire its soul does not go to heaven or hell like you believe yours will. It roams around the earth looking for a suitable body. It waits until it finds one that it favors, most often a baby not yet born. It waits until the most opportune moment, when the babe is born and takes its first breath of real air. At this time the soul lets itself be breathed into the baby's lungs and then it spreads itself through the infant and waits. It waits for the child to grow and waits for the opportunity to become a vampire once again." _

Cat sighed and wondered which opinion was true or if either of them were. She favored the second opinion because she had always thought a soul is what animated a body. It made sense that if you did not have one you would not be walking around and talking and being alive. It also made sense to her that it was not a regular soul, but one more evil than any murderer. She wondered if Alucard had an opinion about it or if maybe he knew the genuine answer. It seemed that he had been a vampire long enough to know everything about them. Surely he had read some of the books before out of curiosity.

She flipped back to the table of contents and scanned down the page. She came across the word _Creation _and flipped to the page it supplied. This section was short and it explained how a vampire was created. There were many different ways and none of them were very interesting. It explained that different vampires chose to create familiars in different ways. The most common was sucking the blood of a willing human, but leaving a small bit inside of them rather than sucking them dry. This would keep them alive long enough for the transformation to take place. It seemed that vampire fangs had a sort of poison in them and if a body was near death the poison would take affect as a sort of life preserver, only it would not be a real life, just a half life.

"I wonder if Alucard has ever made any other vampires. He doesn't seem like the type that would want someone hanging around him for eternity," she thought out loud.

"That is what we thought as well before the night he brought home Seras Victoria," Cat jumped and turned around to see Walter carrying a steaming cup, "I brought you some hot chocolate, it is getting very cold."

"Seras who?" Cat took the hot chocolate and took a sip. She had not realized how cold she was until she felt the warm liquid hit her stomach.

"Seras Victoria. She was a very young police girl that Alucard turned into a vampire to save her from dying. She must have only been twenty the poor thing. She adjusted rather poorly and clung to us for quite some time. She did however finally come to terms with being a vampire and drank human blood. Soon after that Alucard offered her his blood so she would be free and she left after that, most likely in fear that Sir Integra would be angry. We have not seen her since, but I believe she went to South America," he began picking up the books that were sprawled across the floor and putting them away, "I see you have been doing some reading."

"Yes, I was curious about some things and I didn't think I would be able to get many answers from anyone. What did she look like?" Cat curled her legs closer to her and held her cup in both her hands.

"She was about as tall as you with short blonde hair and very blue eyes before she was transformed completely. A very kind girl who cared for other people very much. That is why she had so much trouble becoming a vampire. She was very much attached to being human and did not want to become something other humans feared. In the end I think what consoled her was that she would be able to help humans for eternity and could help them all the better with so much more power," Walter plopped down on one of the soft chairs and sighed, "The cold weather makes me so much more tired."

"Do you think Alucard will tell me about her if I ask?" Cat stood up ready to go ask him no matter what Walter thought.

"I have not the slightest idea. There is no telling with Alucard. You never know how he might react to anything you say to him, but go ahead he will be up soon. Bring him a blood pack for me if you don't mind," Walter leaned back farther on the chair and shut his eyes.

"Sure I will," Cat smiled at him and threw one of the throw blankets over him. She skipped out of the Library and down the hall, ready to take as much time as it took to get a decent story out of Alucard. She stopped by the kitchen quickly and grabbed two blood packs for him, making sure one of them was O. Then she proceeded down the hall that led to his ominous doors and dark steep stairs. She pulled the doors opened and stepped carefully down the dark staircase, excited for what answers she would find at the bottom.

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	45. Seras Victoria

A special thanks to Haissan for the idea that led to this chapter. Keep throwing ideas at me guys or I'm done for.

Seras Victoria

Cat daringly hoped down the last step of the stair case. Luckily it was the floor she hit this time and not a few extra steps. She walked over to the general area of Alucard's coffin and started waving her hands around in the air until she came to the solid wood that always felt cold like metal. She gave a couple taps with her knuckles and when he did not answer she boldly shoved the lid aside. She was in a hurry today and if he had cared she was sure he would have not let it slid to the side so easily.

"Alucard it's time to get up I need to ask you some things. I've sat in the library as long as I can and there aren't any books that can tell me what I want to know," she shook the blood bags so they sloshed around.

She cringed when she felt something ice cold wrap around her wrist and then snatch the bags away. He had done this before, but it always frightened her anyway. She knew it was not his hand, but some sort of shadow or tentacle. She tried to hide the fact that it disturbed her that he had a form that was not human, but it was not hidden well enough. She could only hide so many things from him in her mind and most of them were very menial. She was proud though that she could hide anything at all.

"What is it you are so curious about that you must come in here and wake me up early?" she heard him snap his fingers and a light above them came on just bright enough so she could see his face.

"It isn't early at all it's nearly four. Walter told me something very interesting while I was reading a book about vampire creation, but that's my second question. My first is that I'd like to know if you know whether a vampire has a soul or not," she sat down in his chair next to the coffin.

"Do you think they have a soul?" he tore the end off the blood pack tube and started slurping at it.

"I think they do. One of the opinions was that they do, but it's a different kind, you know like its worse or something," Cat sat and waited for the real answer.

"If you think that then why do you need to ask me?" Alucard squeezed the rest of the blood into his mouth and opened up the other bag.

"Because! I want to know if there's a real answer! I don't want some silly opinion I made up to make myself feel better I want to know the truth," she fidgeted in the chair. She thought that it would be an easy question and answer, either yes or no, but now she was realizing it was silly to think that. She should have known better by now.

"I don't know any more than you do. If you like to think that they do then go ahead. You can call it a soul or a spirit or whatever you want. Knowing does not change what a vampire is. A blood thirsty heathen that would suck you dry without a single thought as to what kind of person you are or who would miss you. Shouldn't a soul make you think of those things before you kill someone?" he lounged back in his coffin and watched the orb of light drift back and forth.

Cat watched the shadows it casted for a while in a trance. They took many different shapes, some frightening and some lovely. Finally, with a sigh she snapped back to the debate, "No, that's a conscience, a soul is what animates you so I guess you have one. I think it makes you cross to be told you have one."

He grunted, "I know what your other question is, but why don't you ask it anyway."

Cat pursed her lips and scowled, "I was reading about how vampires were made and I wondered out loud if you had ever made one and Walter came up behind me and said you had and that her name was Seras Victoria and I wanted to know if you would tell me about her."

Alucard sat quietly for a while and Cat thought that maybe he had decided not to say anything about her or maybe it was a touchy subject. She was about to get up when she heard the slurp and gurgle of the blood pack running dry and Alucard sigh deeply, "Ahh, Seras Victoria, I had almost forgotten."

Cat knew that he was lying when he said he had almost forgotten. It could not have been that long ago and to a vampire an entire human life is just a blink of an eye. "Will you tell me about her?" she settled back into the chair and waited.

"There is not much to tell. She was a girl much like you who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I had to kill her in order to kill the vampire I was hunting and I gave her a choice. Either die now or come with me. She chose to become a vampire and that is the whole story. Tomorrow it will be exactly ten years since she was turned. I will tell you something, but you must not mention it to anyone. It would ruin all the fun if you did," he sat back up in his coffin and looked at Cat.

"Okay," she did not feel the need to promise.

"She sent a letter to Pip about a week ago telling him that she would be coming to visit. She told him not to tell anyone in fear she would be told not to come. Integra was not exactly happy that I have her her freedom and she left, but I did not feel a need for her to be here any longer. She had other things in other places she could be doing on her own. She is still very much like a human, she recognizes the day she died every year and I suppose she feels that ten years is something special that should be celebrated or mourned with old friends. Who really knows how a vampire thinks," he got up from the coffin and stepped lightly onto the floor.

"When is she going to get here?" Cat stood up too, ready to follow him around the whole night and ask anything else she could think of about the girl vampire.

"By the end of tonight she will be here, perhaps around three or four. She still has trouble traveling over the ocean," he began leaving the basement and Cat followed.

"What should we do until she gets here? Should we decorate? Are you going to have something for her when she arrives? You must be excited if it has been ten whole years," Cat skipped up the stairs behind him.

"I don't care what you do while you wait. I have work that needs taking care of," he whooshed out the double doors and down the hall so quick that Cat had to run.

"You really aren't going to get ready for her?!" Cat continued to run after him.

"No, there is nothing to get ready for," he kept up the speedy pace and when Cat looked down to keep from tripping she realized he was not even bothering to touch his feet to the ground.

"Would you stop going so fast I'm trying to talk to you!" she ran faster and tried to grab the back of his coat as it floated behind him. She missed it by an inch and fell onto the marble floor as he turned sharply up the stairs. She heard him laugh and this encouraged her even more. She sprang up as fast as she could and charged up the stairs. She watched as he turned the corner and saw him float through a wall to get away from her. She hastily turned down a different hall that would bring her to Integra's office faster. She huffed and puffed down the hall and thought to herself that she would need to start training with Pip and the Geese again because she was much too out of breath for only running a short way. If she could not even catch Alucard what was she good for?

She turned down the last hallway and saw he was almost to Integra's office doors. They were already standing propped opened to allow the warm air from the furnace to circulate better. She pushed herself to run even faster and flew down the hall making as little noise as she could. She knew even if she was completely silent he would be able to hear her, but his mind must have been some where else because he did not turn around even when she was right upon him. Just as he began to swoop around the corner into the room his coat fluttered out behind him. She took her chance and dove through the air, grabbing a tight hold of it and not bothering to keep herself from falling to the floor.

Alucard was taken by surprise by the sudden weight and stumbled backwards. He would have kept his footing, but good luck on Cat's side and bad luck on his had left her lying directly behind him still clinging to his coat. He tripped over her body and upon falling on the floor there was an extremely loud burst of laughter from inside the office.

Cat struggled to get up to see who the second wails of laughter were coming from, for she could hear more than just Integra, but could not because Alucard had sat up and pressed his legs down over her so she could not move.

"Let me up I want to see who it is!" she writhed and squirmed, but there was no use tiring herself out so she gave up quickly and sighed.

"Might I ask what the purpose of doing that was? You had only to follow me into the office if you needed to say something _that _badly," he did not shout at her, but she could hear the icy rage in his voice.

"There was no purpose it was the principle Alucard. If you had not run away from me and just let me talk to you on your way here then I would not have done it. Now will you let me up? Please?" she looked at him and stuck her lip out comically.

He sat and glared at her for a moment longer until the mysterious person in the office interrupted him, "Let her up Master, Integra has been telling me about her and I want to meet her."

Integra laughed at this, "You needn't call him that any more you know. He is no more your master than he is mine."

"Oh, I know, but it would just feel strange saying Alucard," Cat heard the legs of the chair squeak on the floor as the girl got up.

"Common Alucard! Sitting on the floor is just making you look more pathetic! Get OFF!" Cat started to wriggle again and felt Alucard lift his legs a bit so she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. As soon as she had he let them drop back down again, shoving her flat onto the floor. She cried out as her chin knocked onto the carpet and she heard her teeth click together. Before she could turned her head and yell at him he phased through her and the floor and was gone. She shivered from the unpleasant cold for a moment then pushed herself off the ground and brushed her clothes off, trying to act like nothing had happened.

When she looked up from readjusting herself there were two large red eyes perfectly level with hers. She stuck her hand out without thinking towards the hand that had reached towards hers and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Seras Victoria."

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	46. Other Goings On

A short bit for you to see what went on when Seras arrived at the house leading up to when Alucard and Cat entered the room.  
If anyone has any ideas for missions I'd love to hear them. I think that its about time for another one.

Other Goings On

Seras walked down the old familiar halls of Hellsing. She breathed in the familiar scent of the old building that she had missed so much. Pip walked beside her in silence enjoying her company and she looked over at him and smiled. She had been homesick from the first day she left Hellsing and now she felt like a great weight had been taken off of her chest. She was finally home.

Pip looked over at her and smiled, "You know we 'ave a new recruit. She is like you only tougher and she doesn't whine as much."

"Yes, I can smell her, but I can't seem to find any thoughts. She is still human isn't she?" the scent in the air was definitely a human scent, but Seras could not delve into any thoughts.

"She is still 'uman. I saw her just before you came to ze door, she was on her way to Mr. Alucard's room with packs of blood. If you asked me I would say she fancies zat vampire. Someone should tell her what a bad idea zat is," they were to Integra's office now and Pip knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Integra called from her desk.

Pip opened the door and peaked inside, "I 'ave someone who 'as come to visit you Sir 'ellsing. She is an old friend, if you know what I mean," he pushed the door the rest of the way opened and gave Seras a shove inside.

"Ahh, Seras Victoria, come and sit down," Integra continued shuffling through her papers like always.

"You aren't angry to see me Sir?" Seras timidly stepped into the office and Pip snapped the door shut behind her.

"Seras it has been ten years. Humans can't afford to stay angry that long. Come and sit and we can talk about what ever it is you came to talk about," Integra impatiently waved her hand at the chair in front of her desk.

Seras crept towards the desk and sat down slowly. She surveyed Integra's face for signs of change and found that there were not many. She looked nearly the same as she had ten years ago, only now she looked like she could be a lot scarier.

"So?" Integra looked at her expectantly.

"Oh! Right, well…how are things here? Much different?" she twiddled her thumbs in her lap and stared at her shoes.

"I suppose by that you mean to ask about the girl. Am I right?" Integra put her papers away and focused on Seras. She looked exactly the same she had ten years ago, of course.

"Yes, Pip said she is a human, but I can't pick up any thoughts from her," Seras scrunched her face up in annoyance. She had become so much more powerful since she left Hellsing and now to not be able to pick up the thoughts of a young girl was incredibly aggravating.

"I don't know anything about that, but she is human and she is sixteen," she watched Seras' eyes widen.

"Sixteen! Why on earth is she here!" she had felt betrayed by life when she was twenty and had to come to Hellsing so this girl must feel miserable having to be trapped here at so young an age.

"She was orphaned during a ghoul attack. Alucard nearly shot her just as he did to you," Seras made a pained face at this comment, but Integra continued, "But she managed to outwit the vampire holding her hostage and she lived. Her parents worked here about eleven years ago now. In fact they died just a few months before you arrived. We could not have her running around town with the memories of what she had seen so I sent Alucard to retrieve her. She fits in here quite nicely and she's very talented with a gun."

Seras felt a twinge of jealousy run through her. This girl had everything that she had not. "Pip said that she was bringing Alucard blood packs, does she do that much?"

"Yes, nearly every evening. She's quite attached to him and I think he is fond of her though he would never admit to it. I suppose _fond _isn't the right word for it. He tolerates her rather well and even caters to her curiosity or nosiness as he refers to it. I'm not sure if she realizes it, but she has met him before. When she was maybe three or four her parents brought her by the house. They were very proud of her and wanted me to see her. It seems so long ago, I was only nineteen. Anyway, she was playing on the floor here in the office and they told me to call Alucard so he could meet her as well. I didn't think it would be a good idea. I still did not feel entirely comfortable with him and she was such a small thing I was worried what he might do. The way someone worries about placing a dog around a baby. You don't know if the dog will lick the baby in a loving way or snap at its face without warning. They insisted that it would be fine so I called him in and introduced her as someone would introduce a grown person. He stared at her for a rather long time and she stared back at him just the same, almost like two people who recognized each other, but were drinking in the facial features to be very sure. Finally she got tired of this and began to whimper to be picked up. To my surprise Alucard reached down and picked her up just as if he had always had children and was used to babies. She clung to him like it was the natural thing to do and he complimented the Deschain's on the bravery of their small daughter. They laughed and said it was not bravery, but the simple innocence and kindness of a child," Integra sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair, "Would you go and prop the doors opened? It's getting stuffy in here from the furnace being on."

"Sure," Seras got up and pushed both doors opened. She looked both ways down the hall to see if anyone was around, but they were empty. She went back to her chair and plopped down in it and sighed, "That is a very interesting story. Is it the only time she met him?"

"She met him a few more times. Once they had me baby sit for her, but I haven't told her about it. It was not long after the first meeting and it was a disaster. I had no idea what to do with a child. Walter was a great help and Alucard even entertained himself with her for a while. I must admit that she _was _very funny. She did all sorts of odd things when Alucard was around. Walter would be holding her and Alucard would walk into the room and she would get very excited when she saw him and begin to wriggle and kick about so Walter would have to lean over and set her down. As soon as her feet would touch the ground she would wrap her little arms around Walter's neck and try to bite him! Once I saw her doing it. She would put her lips up to his neck like she was being sweet, but then she would open her mouth very wide and bite down. She never did it so hard that she left any marks. I think it was more of a show. It was like she knew exactly what Alucard was and what he did," Integra picked up a cup that was sitting on her desk and took a sip.

"Maybe she did know. She could have heard someone talking about it or maybe he made her do it for a laugh," Seras was beginning to feel like everyone was fonder of this girl than they had been of her.

"No, I forbade him to use any mind tricks on her. I was worried it might affect her brain or something. She could have heard them talking about it with realizing she did or maybe Alucard even told her. I left them alone in the library for a time when I had something important to do. Who knows what he said to her then, but when I got back she was fast asleep on his chest and he was reading aloud from the Grimm fairytale book. I've assumed that she does not remember any of this. I think the shock of losing one's parents erases memories from that young an age. Would you like me to call Alucard?" Integra was puzzled by the sour expression on Seras' face.

"He's already on his way. He told the girl I wasn't coming until around four in the morning. I can't see why though. I can read minds now, but he's hiding the majority of his," she squinted her eyes trying to see deeper, but she could not.

"Have you been reading my mind?" Integra asked curiously.

"No, of course not! I only do it when I haven't any other choice. It seems a very rude thing to do to friends," her face turned whiter when she said this, which Integra figured was the vampire equivalent of blushing.

Just after she said this, Integra saw Alucard come into view through the office doors, "Ah, here he is now."

Just as Seras stood up to greet her old master she saw the girl fly through the air towards his coat. The girl latched onto it and in his surprise he stumbled backwards and tripped over her. She knew that normally he would have noticed her coming, but he had been greeting her silently in his mind. As soon as he hit the ground she burst out laughing and Integra joined in. All the feelings of contempt that had been growing inside her for the girl disappeared when she heard her bell like voice call out to Alucard to let her up. She realized that it had not been the girl she was cross with, but herself for not being able to do the things this girl had already done. She went over to the heap of child and monster and watched the display of how naturally they interacted with each other. Finally, her old master had had enough and he sank though the girl ad the floor.

Seras took her chance and moved forward with her hand outstretched. The girl, which Seras realized she still did not know her name, stood up and stuck her hand out as well, though she looked a bit shocked to find another vampire in the room. Seras shook her hand and spoke, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Seras Victoria."

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Also there are more pictures up on Cat's myspace of Viviana and Alucard and Adrian Renard


	47. RoseRed

I can not for the life of me think of things for Seras to say or do that would seem _like _her and not just some random person. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway.

Rose-Red

Cat silently shook Seras' hand for a moment until she could find her voice, "I'm Katherine." She had been slightly shocked to see Seras in the office. She had recognized her at once, but she had not been exactly prepared to meet the vampire girl. Alucard was really the only vampire she had ever met. She did not count the man who had grabbed her the very first night and the other who had tried to kill her on her first mission. Seras did not seem anything like any vampire she had ever seen or heard of. She looked completely normal except for the red eyes. She wore regular clothes that Cat fancied would fit her and there was nothing extraordinary looking about her.

"You two finally meet," Integra stood and looked at each of the girls in turn. They were not similar in appearance, but they were remarkably similar in presence. "Why don't you both go and get to know each other. Maybe you can find Alucard and catch up with him as well if he's done pouting. I'm sure Ferguson would like to see you too Seras."

"Um, alright," Seras glanced at Cat then turned to leave the room.

Cat looked at Integra for a moment then shrugged and followed Seras out the door and down the hall. She walked slightly behind her in silence for a while until she got very bored and had to speak up, "Where are you headed?"

"I was going to say hello to Walter first and then I suppose I should go to see Ferguson. Do you know if he would be busy?" she kept her eyes forward as she spoke.

"He's probably on the field with the soldiers training. Not much has been going on lately. Has much been going on in South America? What do you do there," Cat was determined to become friends with Seras even if she did feel awkward around her. It could not be that _all _vampires were stand offish like Alucard.

"Well I mostly did police work there. I stayed at one department for five years than left and went to a different one far away for the next five years. You see, because I don't age, people start to become suspicious so I have to move around," Seras felt herself begin to relax.

"That's interesting. Too bad South America doesn't have something like Hellsing. That would be convenient," Cat skipped along feeling bored in the mostly one sided conversation.

"Yes, it is too bad. There aren't many monsters in South America though. Not ones that come around humans much anyway. I dealt with dangerous criminals that were notorious for slaughtering as many people as it took to get what they wanted. They thought I was just really lucky when it came to not getting shot. They didn't know I was dodging the bullets," she chuckled at this.

"Hmm," Cat had run out of things to say. She continued to walk with Seras though she was not sure why. After turning a few corners and still not finding Walter Cat got sick of it, "Well…I'll let you go see your friends. I'm going to go find Alucard."

"Do you want me to locate him first and tell you where he is?" Seras stopped, ready to find where Alucard was in the house.

"No that's alright, I can find him," she gave a feeble wave and turned back down the hall and left. She walked a little quicker than she usually would just in case Seras thought of something to say that would hinder her escape.

Seras stood and watched the girl go, "It's such a bother to not be able to read her mind. I can't read human emotions any more without prying inside. I wonder if it was something I said."

Cat made straight for the library at an almost jogging pace. She was not completely sure that Alucard would be there, but it seemed the most likely place since it was odd for him to go back into bed once he was up. She checked behind her multiple times on her way there. She was not sure if she was checking to make sure Seras was not following her or if she was checking to see if Alucard was creeping up on her for revenge or for some other reason, but she just felt the need to keep looking.

When she got to the library she opened the door as quietly as she could and slid inside. She peaked out the door one last time to be sure no one was around then shut it softly. When she turned around Alucard was sitting on one of the sofas staring at her. He narrowed his eyes for just a moment, and then went back to the book he was looking through.

Cat walked over to him like nothing had happened and sat down beside him, "Do you know where Walter is?"

"He's in the kitchen," Alucard looked at her nearly beaming.

"Don't smile like that! It's terrifying. Why is Seras headed towards the back of the house if she says she's going to find Walter? Shouldn't she know that he's in the kitchen?" Cat could not think of a reason for Seras to lie. Maybe she was not able to locate people as well as she seemed to think she could.

"She is going to see someone else first that she obviously wants to be kept secret," Alucard lifted the arm closest to Cat and tapped her cheek with the back of his hand.

"I don't get it. Who is she going to see?" she looked at him curiously.

"Pip," he looked back at his book and flipped through some pages.

"Why is that a secret? Pip was here back then right?" she squirmed in her seat. She hated not knowing something that someone else did.

"You are not old enough yet to understand things like this. When you are old enough it will come to you and you won't need to ask," he snapped the book shut and tossed it onto the coffee table where it made a very loud smack.

"Wha…_oh, _you could have told me _that_. You forget that sixteen for a human is nearly an adult," Cat thought about the new information she had just received. "But _EW! _He's so much older than her! Pip is nearly forty!"

"Yes, now he is, but when she was changed he was twenty eight. And what does age matter to you humans anyway? I thought you were all about love and happiness?" Alucard looked down at her.

"Not _me_, I'm all about what is sensible and acceptable. You should know that already," she scowled at him.

"Yes, well one day you will not care what is acceptable and you will do what you please. I should think that you would do what ever you please now and grow into society, but you have taken to the rules of society too early and now must grow out of them. You've started at the wrong end of things and are going backwards," he stood up and sauntered to the other side of the library where he stopped in front of the wall of books that reached the ceiling. He reached his arm up as high as it would go and let it stretch into a tentacle that slithered the rest of the way up the wall and curled itself around a thick short book. He brought it back with him and sat down on the couch again, "Do you remember this book?" he handed the heavy book to Cat.

Cat looked at the cover of the book, "_Grimm's Complete Fairytales_? No, I don't, should I?"

"I read this to you once when you were very small, before your parents died," he stared hard at her face, waiting for a reaction.

"The _whole _thing! It's so long though!" she flipped the book opened to look at the stories inside.

"No, not the whole thing. Does that not interest you that I read you fairytales as a child?" he frowned, disappointed.

"You mean to say, 'does that not surprise you', which is does not, but of course it interests me. Why has Integra never told me this?" she flipped to the contents page and scrolled down it.

"She thought that it would shock you too much. It was before your parents were killed so she thinks you blocked out any memories you had before then. I don't see what it would matter if you remembered things before then, it isn't as though they were dramatic things. Integra baby sat for you and was terrible at it. She left Walter and I to do most of the work," he took the book out of her hand and started flipping through it.

"She thought that you would be more capable at childcare than her? That does not sound very promising. So is that the time I met you that you've acted so secretive about? That is a bit of a let down. I suppose I was silly to think it amazing that I had met you before that night down town. My parents worked with you; of course I would have met you before. It seems unavoidable now," and then she thought to herself, "Though the dream of the park seems so real, I do wonder…"

"This was your favorite," Alucard interrupted her and put the book in her lap.

"Snow-White and Rose-Red? Why was that my favorite?" she started to read it to see if the memory would return.

"How should I know? You imagined yourself as Rose Red because she was the more outgoing of the two and because she married the King's son that was not in the story and had not been a bear," Alucard twisted his neck around and Cat heard it crack loudly.

"I do not remember any of it at all," she sighed sadly and put the book on the table.

"Never mind, I have told you about it so you have no real need to remember now," he picked up a different book off the table (there seemed to be so many) and started flipping through it.

"Yes, but I should like to remember it. I'm sure my memories of it are much more interesting than the way you've told it," she slumped over on the couch cushions and yawned.

"Seras will be on her way here soon. She has finished saying hello to Walter and Ferguson. She is under the impression that you are not fond of her," Alucard laughed at this. He enjoyed confrontation.

"That is not so. Why would she think it?" Cat peaked up from the pillow to see if she had opened the library doors yet. They were safely closed so she continued, "I was only bored by her. She said hardly a thing and I tried to make a conversation. It isn't any fun when it's so one sided."

"Perhaps she feels threatened by you?" Alucard threw down his book and picked up yet another.

"Do you mean that like you don't know? Or do you mean it like it's an honest fact and you find it amusing?" she sat herself back up again and drew closer to him to stare in his face and watch for mischief.

"It matters not either way, you will go to bed soon and I will have to spend a night catching up with everything that has gone on for the past ten years," he stood up from the couch and stretched.

"Can't you just read it all out of her head?" Cat stood up with him and stretched too.

"Yes, but I should think she will want to talk it all out like you always do," he started towards the library door.

"Yes, but you can't see every thing that goes on in my head and I suspect that she can't see anything at all the way she was acting. Tell me that I'm right," she bounced after him merrily.

"You are right. Now go busy yourself with something else and go to bed very late if you can," he pulled opened the library door and pushed her out.

"Why?" she turned around and looked at him before he closed the door.

"Because something is coming and we will need you tomorrow night," he snapped the door shut and she stood staring at it for a moment.

"Something's coming?" she opened the door again, but he was no longer in the library, "I wonder what."

* * *

As He said, something's coming, so in the next chapter or maybe the one after that things will be more exciting, I hope. I have been feeling very un-creative in my writing and my photography lately. Nothing seems to be inspiring me.

Review and try to inspire me if you would.


	48. Ze Zing about Men is Zis

MAN, is it ever hard to make someone sound like Pip. I didn't give this soldier a name just cause...I didn't feel like it. Anyway, I looked in the book a lot and it had all the TH as Z's and anything H was just cut out and replaced with '. Well anyway I hope you all like this chapter. Someone people wanted to see some jealousy so I tried to put some in without it seeming too overbearing. I don't want Cat to turn into some crazed man lover. Don't forget yall, shes only sixteen.

Ze Zing about Men is Zis

Cat managed to stay up until four in the morning that day and when she heard the clock sing its four dongs she promptly fell over onto her pillow in a corpse like sleep. She slept the entire day and when she finally awoke it was nearly dark outside again. She looked over at the clock and saw it was six. She rolled over out of bed and stumbled to her dresser, feeling awkward and groggy from having slept so very long. She dressed herself in a state of thoughtlessness and strapped on her holster without thinking. She loaded her weapons and dropped them into their cradles, enjoying the weight of them on her hips. She stuffed a few more clips into her belt and then headed for the door. When she opened it Walter was standing there with his fist raised ready to knock.

"Oh, I see you're already up and ready. How did you know there was a mission?" he put down his fist that was beginning to look menacing to Cat and handed her a few SoyJoy bars.

"Last night Alucard told me that something was coming. I guess I just figured this is what he meant. Is it more vampires?" Cat tore the wrapper off the bar with her teeth and started munching at it. She swallowed hard and made a face at the dryness.

"Oh right, here," Walter pulled a juice box out of his pocket and handed it to her, "We aren't really sure what it is. You'll be going to a building that we suspect is a freak nest. Come walk with me as I tell you, Alucard is anxious to leave. We think they have been making new freaks there. We got a tip from an anonymous caller so it could very well be a trap. Don't worry you'll be perfectly safe just as you were the last time you went on a mission with Alucard."

"Yes, the _last _time, but not the time before that. What if he's setting a pattern and this time he's going to leave me for dead again," she sucked down half the juice box and took another bite of soy bar.

"I'm sure that will not happen. A lot has changed since then and he is not permitted to let harm come to you anyway. Seras will be there as well if you find yourself in trouble and you can always count on her," Walter walked passed the stairs and stood in front of the wall.

"Why is _she_ going?" Cat finished her juice box and crushed it in her hand.

"She is going because this was her job long before it was yours and Integra would rather send another vampire than a squadron of soldiers. Now step back from the wall," he raised his hand and hit the ball of his palm on the wall. A panel swung opened and Cat peaked in to see an elevator.

"I always thought in a house so large it was odd that there were no elevators. Why do you keep it hidden so?" she followed Walter inside and looked at all the buttons. Rather than floor numbers they all had names of different places in the house. Walter mashed the one that said foyer and Cat felt the elevator jerk like it was going very fast. There were no doors so she could see the wall of each floor as they swiftly passed them. They stopped at the bottom floor and Cat waited for Walter to open the wall, but he only stood. She was about to ask him what he was waiting for when she was knocked sideways by the force of the elevator zooming to the left. It continued like this for about five seconds then abruptly stopped so she fell back over again just after she found her balance from the previous fall.

Walter stepped forward and pushed against the wall, "Last stop," he chuckled and the wall popped opened to reveal the foyer.

"I suppose that is why you never use them?" Cat rubbed her arm where it had hit the side of the elevator during her tumble, "because you don't want to maim your guests?"

"Be very carful tonight Katherine. There is no telling what you will find in that building. It could be full of vampires or ghouls or henchmen," he looked her over carefully, "Or of something else."

Cat nodded as the elevator slid back to the side. She waited for a moment to see if the wall would swing back into place, but it did not so she pushed it closed and listened to it snap. She turned around expecting to see Alucard waiting in the foyer, but it was empty.

"What is it with everyone and 'something'? Something this and something that, something's coming, something else, something here something there! Nothing ever has names," she walked to the front door and leaned against it. She thought she heard voices, but no one was to be seen. She pressed her ear to the front door and they grew louder. She pushed the door opened and went outside, "You would think that someone would have told me they'd be out here, but of course I should be able to guess myself right? Everyone else can read minds why shouldn't I be able to?"

She headed towards the canvas covered truck that was sitting in the drive way. A couple soldiers were standing outside it and another was loading in supplies. From where Cat was she could just barley make out the red cross on the boxes. As she walked closer Alucard came into view. He was grinning very widely at something and she even saw him toss his head back and laugh. She walked a little faster to see what it was around the truck that was causing him to act so normal. When she saw the blot of bright yellow fabric and blonde hair she frowned and went to stand with the soldiers instead. She could hear the shrill voice talking about past missions and things that happened. Cat was not sure what was so funny about being attacked by vampires, freaks and ghouls.

When the soldier had finished loading the last box he left and did not come back. Cat turned to one of the soldiers that were standing next to her, "Are you going with us?"

"I'm just driving the truck love. Dallas 'ere is going to stay in ze back and play doctor if any of you should come back 'urt. I suppose zat would only be you wouldn't it love? Zem two shouldn't 'ave any problems with getting shot or 'avin limbs ripped off," the second soldier, Dallas, nodded at Cat and hopped into the back of the truck. He pushed up the canvas so it would not be so dark inside and sat down on one of the benches.

Cat swallowed hard. She had never considered one of her limbs being torn off. Getting shot sounded peaceful compared to that.

"Don't look so nervous love. We promised Pip we'd take good care of you. Zat vampire friend of yours wouldn't let nozing 'appen to you anyway," he clapped Cat on the shoulder and went around to get in the truck. "Come Mr. Alucard, ze girl is 'ere and we are ready to go!"

Alucard walked around to the back of the truck, "It's about time. We've been waiting too long."

Cat could not think of anything snotty to say to him. Seras came around the corner just behind him and Cat felt her face get hot. Seras jumped into the back of the truck and Alucard followed her in. They both sat on the bench across from the soldier.

"Are you going to just stand there?" Alucard scoffed at her.

"I'm going to ride in the front," Cat went to the front of the truck and pulled the door opened.

"Ah, you decide zat it's safer up 'ere zen? Very well very well, buckle up tight, we're taking ze scenic route."

Cat put her seatbelt on and sighed. She peaked into the rearview mirror and could see everyone in back. The soldier was leaning against the canvas and had his hat pulled over his eyes. To Cat's joy, Alucard looked very bored as Seras chattered on. She smiled for a moment and was relieved, until she saw him laugh again and add comments of his own.

She sighed again and looked out the window. The soldier had started to drive, but she realized he had turned back down the driveway and was headed for the back of the house. "Where are you going?"

"Like I said, ze scenic route. We go zrough ze back of ze woods and come out very near ze invested building. So, 'ow do you feel about zis new girl? She seems nice, yes?" the soldier hit the gas when they got to the woods and Cat bounced up and down in the seat. She gasped as her head almost hit the ceiling. The soldier reached over and yanked her shoulder strap so she was pressed tighter to the seat.

"I don't know, what do you think of her? Were you here that long ago?" Cat gripped the handle on the door to steady herself more.

"I came just after she left. Seems like everyone else liked 'er just fine. Pip goes on and on about 'er. If I wasn't so old I wouldn't be able to tell zat zere is somezing ze matter. Go on and tell me and zen I can give you old person advice like my fazer used to give to me," the soldier shifted another gear and drove even faster. Trees were swiping past the window so fast they looked like a black blur. Cat was not even sure how the soldier could tell where he was going. The road they were on, if it could even be called that, was barley visible now that the sun was gone and the headlights shone hardly brighter than a flashlight.

"You don't look like you're old enough for any good advice. Plus, what would advice from men do for me? When my mother was alive she used to tell me before she put me in bed that men did not know anything about girls and to never trust them for good advice," Cat was growing used to the violent rocking of the truck and was beginning to enjoy it.

"She didn't," the soldier looked over at Cat while he was driving.

"No, but she would have if I had been older. It's something everyone knows. All girls anyway," she glanced in the rear view mirror again to see if Alucard was grouchy yet. She was sorry to see that he looked completely normal. Normal was not even the right word for it. Normal for Alucard meant brooding and angry looking. Now he looked like a normal _human_. Cat looked out the window again feeling completely hopeless and not even knowing why. What did she care that this girl came here and had a relationship with Alucard? She still had a relationship with him, it was just different.

"Ah, I zink I know what is ze matter. You should not worry about zings like zat so much. You are still very young and zere are many ozer people in ze world. Ones zat are alive, you know?" the soldier looked at Cat and she just stared back at him. "I 'ope I do not offend you, but you know 'e is really not your type."

"What! That isn't even why I'm upset! I can't believe you, this is why women do not listen to advice from men! They always say the most far off things," she crossed her arms and slumped down feeling embarrassed and annoyed.

"Well zat is why you should 'ave told me! If men can not give advice to women zen why don't I tell you some advice about a man. Zen you can do with it whatever you want. How about zat?" he turned the wheel sharply and the truck careened around an unseen corner.

"Sure, I guess so. What harm could it do now?" she leaned up against the door so she could face him better.

"Well, zis is what I zink. I see zat you are troubled by ze visit of zis ozer girl. First, I zink zat you should get to know 'er and be 'er friend because zat is what all good girls should do. Zey make friends with ozer girls and zat is why we men 'ave so much trouble you see? Because you all know each ozer and you tell everzing you 'ear! And zen the ladies, zey come to us and zey say 'well I 'eard zat you were wiz anozer woman' and zen what can we say back to zem aye? You women are like ze little spiders zat build zeir webs all togezer and zey keep each ozer safe from bigger zings. You understand?" Cat nodded and he continued, "Now, ze second zing is zat men are very different zan women. Zis I'm sure you already know, but not 'ow zey are different. Women zink zat men are always shopping for a better woman, but zis is not so. Some men zey do not shop at all, but ze ones zat do shop are not looking to replace zeir woman, zey are just looking for a different woman, you see?" Cat looked at him skeptically, "Let me explain it better. You are jealous zat your Alucard is spending time wiz zis new girl. No no don't try to protest I know zis is what it is even if you do not. Now, 'e is talking to zis girl much more zan he ever talks to you yes? BUT! What will 'appen when she is gone? Zings will go back to just ze way zey were. 'E will not care where she goes or how to keep in contact with 'er because 'e 'as you. Men do not replace ze women in zeir lives, but zey 'ave a spot in zere 'earts for all of zem. A different spot for each one. Am I 'elping you at all love?" he looked over at Cat to see if she looked enlightened.

"I don't know! Alucard doesn't even have a heart so I don't think anything you're saying applies to him. He isn't a human man either so how does any of it apply?" she made the most frustrated face she could manage.

"Well! If you zink of all zat zen it is not much 'elp I suppose, but 'e was a man at one time so it still applies. Oh, what do I know? I am just the driver and I 'ave no fair ladies to call my own. If she bozers you zat much zen you should say somezing to him. Stop being such a baby about it," he hit the breaks hard and shifted into reverse all in the same moment.

"I am not a baby about it! Why are we backing up?" Cat held her hands out against the dashboard in fear she would be slammed into it if they abruptly stopped again.

"We're going to back up to ze front of ze building and stay under ze trees. Zat way if you come running out from monsters you can jump right into ze back of ze truck and I can 'it the gas and get ze 'ell out of 'ere," he hit the breaks more slowly and Cat watched in the rear view mirror as the building came into view. She also watched as Seras continued her conversation with Alucard.

"Are you ready zen little one? I 'ad not zought about 'ow tiny you are, before. Are you sure you want to go inside? We could call for backup and send someone else?" he looked at Cat with concern, but she thought she saw his mouth curl ever so slightly at the corners.

"Of course I'm going in. How else am I going to prove that I'm just as good as that vampire girl?"

The soldier laughed at this and Cat laughed along with him as they got out of the truck to ready her for the mission.

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	49. Cat and Cat

A long chapter finally. It would have been even longer, but I wanted to put it out tonight and I wasn't nearly done so I just left off. This chapter was oddly inspired by the display name Lunatic Pandora1. I'm not really sure why, but I had been reading Alice in Wonderland and afterward went to read some reviews. Upon looking at the name I immediately got the idea to throw some bits and pieces of adventures in wonderland into the mission. I do hope it came out alright. I'm rather pleased with it.

Cat and _Cat_

Cat walked around to the back of the truck still laughing with the soldier. Seras and Alucard were just hopping out and Dallas was getting more comfortable on the bench.

"So are you all ready love? I guess you don't need much aye? You want me to pull a bullet proof jacket out of ze back just in case?"

"No, I'll be fine, guns are the last things I'm worried about," she tightened her holster and pulled her socks higher up in her boots.

"Well zen, we'll be waiting 'ere when you get back. Be carful love," he shook her hand for luck and tousled her hair before he jumped into the back of the truck and closed the canvas.

"Come on," Alucard began briskly walking across the grass towards the building.

Cat had to jog to keep up with his pace and when she looked over she saw that Seras was keeping up with no problem. Cat pushed herself to run faster so she would be running with them rather than behind them.

When they got to the door Seras phased straight through it leaving Cat with Alucard.

"Are you quite frightened?" he looked at her and smirked.

"I'm never _quite_ frightened. Just anxious," she reached out for the door knob and was surprised to find it unlocked. She pushed the door opened and peered inside, "Well that was easy. Maybe the whole mission will be like that."

"You humans always wish for impossible things," he stepped into the gloom of the dank building.

"You vampires are always being so pessimistic about everything," Cat stepped in after him and flinched as the door slammed behind her, "Did you do that?"

"No, I did not," he quietly looked around the building. They were in a foyer with no doors. The only way to go was down a hall that was directly in front of the door they had come in through. Alucard started down the hall quickly, eager to find out what lay in the depths of the building.

Cat followed closely behind him feeling more and more anxious about the mission. Things seemed much too quiet. Though she had only been on two missions before she thought that things were usually full of action from the very beginning. They always knew what they were getting into and what kind of monsters they would be fighting and even where all the monsters were. This building was dead quiet. It did not even have the moaning and groaning sounds that many old deserted buildings had. The only sound that could be heard were Cat's own footsteps and the annoying clunk of Seras' cannon and bullet case tapping together.

After a seemingly long time of silent walking they came to a fork in the hall. A three pronged fork to be exact.

Cat turned around to see if the front door was even visible anymore after walking so far and gasped, "Look at that!"

Alucard and Seras turned around to see what she was in awe over. Seras gasped as well, but Alucard only chuckled, "How very interesting. Things are getting more and more exciting every second."

Though they had been walking for at least five minutes the front door seemed a mere fifteen feet away.

"But how is that even possible!" Cat grabbed onto Alucard's sleeve in excitement and shook it.

"How should I know something like that? Aren't humans supposed to embrace the impossible?" he shook her hand loose of his sleeve and turned back to face the halls.

"Enough with the human crap, jeeze. It's getting ridiculous," Cat turned back to face the halls as well and crossed her arms in annoyance.

"What should we do?" Cat jerked her head sideways, surprised to hear Seras speak up.

"We split up. I'll take the left, Seras will take the middle and Cat can take the right," he looked at the two to be sure they agreed.

"We can't split up are you mad!" Cat dropped her arms to her sides and stood rigid and aghast.

"Very mad," Alucard laughed evilly and took no notice to her outrage.

"Well I don't want the right! Why does she get the middle?" Cat could see Seras looking at her but she chose not to notice.

"You can have the middle Cat I don't mind," Seras offered kindly.

Cat shot her a look when she used her preferred nick name. She only _preferred _hearing it from people she was friends with. "Alucard, why don't you take the middle?" Cat did not feel like being in the hall next to Seras. If something happened and she was in trouble she would rather it not be Seras that came to her aid.

"Fine, may we just go? I don't see what difference it makes to you," Alucard shoved her towards the right hall and started down the middle one without a look back. Soon he was not even visible through the dim lighting.

"Well, good luck. Yell if anything happens okay?" Seras looked at Cat kindly and smiled.

"I've been on missions before, I know what to do," Cat turned down the hall and walked away. She looked back a second later feeling bad that she had snapped at Seras, but Seras had already disappeared down her hall.

"Well so much for making friends with her. She probably thinks I'm a jerk now," Cat walked down the hall slowly. She was not sure what she was supposed to look for and there was only the option of walking straight so she trekked on down the hall for around five minutes. She turned around abruptly to see if the same phenomenon that happened with the foyer would happen with her hall, but all she could see was the dark length of it.

When she turned back around she noticed one of the lights that ran along the hall ceiling were out. It left a dark area about five feet long on the floor before the next light came along and lit things back up again.

"I could have sworn it was lit just a second ago," Cat stood staring at it curiously, waiting to see if it would flicker back on, but it did nothing. She shrugged her shoulders and started walking again without much thought to how very dark the floor was.

The moment she stepped into the darkness she was plunged into icy cold water. She shrieked in surprise for a moment, but was cut off when her head went under. She kicked around frantically in the water trying to find a bottom, but there was not one so she kicked as hard as she could and finally burst to the surface. She gasped as her face hit the air which seemed suddenly warmer than it had been before. She splashed around in the water trying to make it to the lighted area on the other side. She struggled until her muscles were sore, but finally reached it. The light began in a hard line rather than fading from dark to light gradually. She gripped this seemingly false edge and pushed her feet forward thinking there would be a wall just like in a swimming pool. She gasped again when her legs and torso slipped right under the floor and she had to struggle again to straighten herself out. She finally managed to kick half her body up onto the ledge and pull herself the rest of the way out.

She laid dripping on the floor with her eyes closed, gasping and sputtering for breath. "How…is…that…even…possible!" she managed to choke out to no one in particular. She pulled herself up into a sitting position and stared at the dark water. It had already stopped rippling and looked like smooth black glass. "Why didn't it look like that before?"

"It surely did," a small voice spoke directly behind her.

Cat screamed and nearly dove back into the black pool to get away from the unknown voice. She managed to keep on the edge of the floor and slide further to the wall. When she turned around to see who had spoken she saw a small boy who looked no older than five. He had very dark brown untidy hair that reached just below his ears and his eyes were a brilliant blue and looked much too large for his face just as a deer looks.

The small boy stood looking at her for a long moment as if he was waiting for her to respond to what he had said. Cat remained silent with her eyes growing larger every moment so he saw fit to continue before they popped out of her head, "Are you searching for something?"

Cat nearly gasped to hear him speak again. She was sure that she was only imagining him and that if she blinked or tried to talk to him he would vanish. He continued staring at her very intently so she thought she must answer him soon lest he become upset and cry, "Yes, I am looking for…something."

"By what name?" the boy inquired.

"I don't really know," Cat pushed herself up on her knees so she would be more level with him.

"Then what kind?" he tilted his head side ways the way some puppies do when they are curious.

"I'm sure I don't know that either," she was beginning to feel uncomfortable with him so stood up against the wall.

"How will you know then, when you find it?" he put one of his small hands in his pocket and fumbled around with something inside.

"Well, I don't know that either. Perhaps I will just know," Cat stepped towards him thinking that this was no place for a child and that she should take him back outside immediately.

"Perhaps you have found it already," and then he turned and ran away from her as fast as his small legs could go.

"But wait! You shouldn't be here it's dangerous!" Cat sprinted after him, but he seemed to be moving faster than his legs were touching the ground. She chased him for about twenty yards before he turned down a corner. But before he did so he pulled his hand out of his pocket and tossed something down. It slid back towards Cat and then stopped against a wall. She ignored it for the moment and ran around the corner where the boy had disappeared, but it was a dead end after only about four feet of hall. She looked frantically at the three walls enclosing it, but there were no doors or any seam lines from hidden ones. She stood gasping for breath and from shock for a moment before she turned back around and went back down the hall a ways to find what he had dropped.

After a moment of searching she found the small thing against the wall. It was a small skeleton key about two inches long. It was a bright gold color and glistened even in the dim hall lights.

"I wonder why he threw it away so violently," she turned the key over in her hand and then stuck it into her pocket just in case she should see the boy again.

After a few deep breaths to calm herself down she started walking again down the hall that seemed to never end. She wondered if Alucard or Seras, who could teleport and run faster than a bullet, had reached the end of the hall or maybe another room. "At this rate they are going to finish the mission while I'm still walking along this hall and someone will have to come and get me," she frowned and kicked at the wall, leaving a black boot scuff on it.

Further down the hall Cat noticed smears on the walls. There were hand prints that were smudged and some that were perfect, there were drag marks from fingers and bigger smears that were made by who knows what. Even further down there were splatters and drips and chunks missing from the wall. And even further than that the walls began to turn red entirely.

"And all in red paint," Cat made a gulping sound in her throat and closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them again the walls had returned to their clean white state, only now they were lined with many shelves that jutted straight out, seeming to not be held up by anything. Cat looked at the things on the shelves in awe. There were many jars full of all kinds of things. Some were filled with toys and some with different colorful fabrics. Some had jams and jellies in them and some had loaves of bread and silverware. Moving further down the hall again the contents of the jars began to change. They were filled with broken toys and bits and pieces of porcelain dolls. Some of them were filled with odd looking fish and frog spawn. One jar had lost its lid and Cat could see the skeleton of a goldfish inside and covered with dust. The further she walked the more grotesque the things in the jars became. There were fetuses of animals and rotten eggs. There were preserved organs and even some whole animals like snakes and mice. One rather large jar contained the head of a lamb with the top of its skull removed so the brains could be easily seen.

Further down the jars changed again and were much less terrifying this time. They contained many substances that Cat knew no name for. Some were filled with sparkles, some had liquid that looked light and airy and had a pearly sheen to it. Some jars had different colored vapors that swirled around inside of them like they wanted to be let out. Cat considered opening a very small jar full of pink vapors that swirled around very rapidly, but she changed her mind when she thought about what poisons it might contain.

As Cat walked by and admired the glowing sparkling things in all the jars she noticed something hanging off a shelf with a very large jar of purple and pink vapor. She stepped a little closer and saw it was a striped brown tail and was twitching back and forth. She walked even nearer to the shelf so she might see behind the jar to find the owner of the tail. She was quite surprised to find a cat sitting there and staring at her good naturedly.

"Why, you're a cat," Cat giggled at the furry creature which seemed quite amused at the sound of her voice.

It pushed itself up further on its haunches and curled its twitching tail around itself, "Why, so are you!"

Cat stumbled back in fright, for she had not ever heard a cat speak before.

The cat seemed amused by the fright on her face a ginned very widely showing a great many sharp glistening teeth.

Cat recovered quickly, thinking there was no reason to be shocked since so many odd things had happened already, "Yes, but I'm quite a different sort than you are."

The cat grinned even wider at this remark and settled himself back down on his shelf.

Cat waited a moment to see if the cat would say anything else, but it only looked at her mildly and swished its tail to and fro. "Could you tell me please, where exactly am I?"

"You are exactly in the right hallway, the same one you took on your way in I should think," the cat lifted his paw and scratched his chin.

"Well, yes I know _that _much. What I mean to say is where is this hallway taking me?" Cat looked back down the way she had come and saw that all of the shelves had disappeared except for the one the cat was on.

"Well then, you should have said that. You should always say what you mean. And you should mean what you say too," at this the cat laughed and Cat (it's all so confusing isn't it?) had to wait until he had quieted down before she spoke again.

"Shall I be getting anywhere if I continue to walk down this way?" she was beginning to feel like the cat would give her no real answers.

"Oh yes you're sure to get somewhere if you only walk long enough," the cat giggled again and rolled onto its back, hanging its head over the shelf and staring at her upside down.

"Well yes, anyone could have thought of that. What lies at the end of the hallway then?" she crossed her arms and tried to look firm.

"Well first off, you're sure to find the people you came here with. That yellow topped girl and that man with the hat. He did try and shoot me you know? You should tell him how very rude that is when he was not invited in the first place," the cat flipped back over and scowled at her menacingly.

"I'll be sure to tell him. And second off what shall I find?" she inched back slightly from the cat in case he grew cross and decided to take a swipe at her.

"Well, the children of course! Everyone knows that," the cat grinned at her again and jumped nimbly onto the floor where it sat down and began to clean its face like a normal cat.

"What sort of children? Like the boy I saw earlier? Are you listening cat?" she crouched down towards the cat and waved her hand around it to get its attention.

The cat looked up at her slowly, "Meow."

"So you're now just a regular cat?" she reached out and scratched him under his chin and he sat still and purred nicely. "I suppose I should get going then, huh cat?" she gave him one last scratch and then stood up and started down the hall once more. She had gone about ten paces when the cat spoke up again.

"Oh, Katherine," she turned around and the cat was standing on its legs like a man and was wearing a tail coat of purple and pink stripes the same shade that had been in the large jar of vapors which had now vanished.

"Yes?" she walked back towards it.

"You wouldn't want to forget this," the cat held out its paw facing upwards and on it sat the little golden key.

"But, I know I didn't drop it. It was right here in my pocket," she felt in her pocket, but the key was gone.

"It's better not to question things here," the cat dropped the key into her opened hand, "It's best to find what you're looking for very quickly and leave just as quick before you or your friends turn into something else."

Cat closed her fist tightly around the key for fear it would find its way away from her again.

The cat buttoned the middle button on his tail coat and then smiled at Cat before he turned towards a door knob that was sticking out from the wall. He gave it a tug and a cat sized door popped opened in the wall. Before he shut the door he gave Cat another large toothy grin, a wink, and snapped the door knob off the wall. When the door shut it left no trace that it (or the cat) had been there at all.

"Things just get more curious every moment," she straightened herself up and continued down the hall which now seemed much brighter than it had before.

Soon she could see an end to the hall, "Finally!" She started to run towards it and as she got closer she could see that it led into a great room. In the room she could see the entrances to two more halls which she was sure would be Alucard's and Seras'. Sure enough, just as she thought this she saw Alucard come into view in the archway of the hall next to hers. She ran faster and could barley contain her excitement, though it had not been so very long since she had seen him. She had become tired of the odd hall long ago and was ready to be back with people she knew and felt safe with.

When she got closer and was sure he would hear her she called out, "Alucard!"

She saw him turn towards her hall entrance, but he only stared at it. "Right here!" she waved her arms at him and laughed, but he still seemed to only look past her.

She slowed her pace to a jog and studied his face. He looked confused and even a bit worried.

"Alucard?" she took the last few steps to the entrance into the great room and upon reaching the threshold, collided with something very solid.

REVIEW! Pease. This was tough.


	50. Fairy Children

_**A/N Again I've decided to leave off so that you would have a chapter sooner. I feel like it has been a VERY long time since I posted one but it has only been six days. I think the time has been going by very slowly since I have been feeling so down. I hope you enjoy this chapter. i supposed it reveals some more things about the odd mission. **_

Fairy Children

Cat grabbed her forehead in shock when it collided into the unseen barrier. She fell backwards onto the ground and laid there for a moment trying to make sense of what had just happened. As it were, none could be made, so she pushed herself up into a sitting position and stared out into the room.

Alucard was walking towards her now and staring intently at the spot where she sat, but he was still staring through her.

She cautiously stuck out her leg and gently pushed her foot against the barrier. It held fast just as any wall would, but nothing could be seen. She looked at Alucard's face and kicked the wall to test her theory.

At the sound of the thump Alucard's face changed and he looked to where the noise had come from.

"So he can definitely hear me," she said out loud and stood back up.

"Katherine?" he stuck out his fist and rapped on the wall.

"Yeah! I can hear you! What the hell is going on!" she put her hands up to the wall as if it would help her sink through it.

"I don't know. Are you in another room?" he started pressing against the wall with the palm of his hand.

"No I'm still in my hall way! I can see through whatever this is! It just looks like an archway, but I can't get through!" she pushed harder against the barrier, but nothing happened.

"You can stop yelling I can hear you just fine," he leaned against the wall with his shoulder and pushed harder.

"Oh, sorry. Can you come through and get me?" she stepped back so he would have room to step through.

"I can't I've been trying. This is a very odd wall. In fact this entire building is very strange," he pushed on the wall a few more times then raised his gun.

"What the heck are you doing!" Cat screamed and dove to the side just as he pulled the trigger.

Cat watched as the walls on either side of her shuddered, but no damage was done to the invisible barrier.

"How delightfully queer!" Alucard studied the spot where the bullet had hit. The wall was completely smooth with no trace of a dent or even shards from the bullet. "It would seem that it has swallowed the bullet. Or maybe it will come out somewhere else." He raised his gun once more and shot the wall again. This time the bullet promptly bounced off the wall and tore into his stomach.

Cat screamed as blood sprayed the wall and Alucard was thrown backwards to the center of the room. He lay still for a moment then started laughing manically. She bounced up and down trying to see around the blood that to her was hanging in the air by itself. "Are you okay?" she called.

"Fine," Alucard reached into his stomach and pulled out the bullet which had been burning a hole through him to his back.

"Smear the blood off I can't see," Cat sat on the floor and looked though an opening where no blood had dripped. She looked around the room and then thought of something, "Where is Seras?"

"I'm not really sure. She may have turned back to go down your hall and find you," he walked back to the wall and placed his palm upon it. The blood began to creep towards it like it was a magnet.

"Shouldn't she have been here by now then?" Cat stood up again and leaned against the wall with defeat.

"Who knows? This place does not follow the rules of time. We are mere yards from the entrance yet it took you so long to travel down your hall," Alucard re-holstered his gun and sat down with his back against the wall.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be looking for her or for something? Like I don't know, maybe the thing we came here for?" she kicked the spot of wall where his head was at.

"Which would be?" he turned and looked at the spot he was guessing her to be standing in. She slid out of the way in annoyance so he would be looking at nothing.

"This mission is stupid," she slid down against the wall and leaned her back against where his was.

"Just because something is too hard for you to understand does not mean it is stupid," he twiddled his thumbs in his lap and yawned.

"There isn't anything to understand! This is just a stupid building playing stupid games and I don't see what is dangerous about it at all. We should have just let it be. Whoever was doing experiments in here is obviously gone. We should just leave before any more weird things happen," Cat waited for his response, but none came. She turned around to find the wall back in view and a great wooden door set into it.

Alucard quickly turned around when he heard Cat's voice abruptly cut off, "Katherine? Have you seen something? Answer me!" He started to pound on the wall, but there was still no answer, "Seras!"

Seras came running down her hall just as he called her, "Yes? What's happened?"

"I don't know. Did you find the hall?" he continued kicking at the wall, but to no avail.

"Yes, but it was completely blocked off. I tried to break through it, but nothing had any affect, not even my cannon," Seras held her cannon lovingly.

"I am tired of these games!" Alucard spun around and faced the center of the room, "Come out you low life freaks and face us!"

Meanwhile on the other side of the wall Katherine knocked at and prodded the new wooden door. She tried the handle, but found the door to be securely locked.

"I just don't understand what the point of this place is. It hasn't tried to harm us or anything of that sort so why does it play games so," she slumped back down on the floor.

"Oh, but it will," a cackling voice spoke from the dark depths of the hall.

"Cat? Is that you cat?" Cat stood up and peered into the dark. She heard chuckling, but the cat did not show himself.

She started to walk down the hall, but a voice called out to her, "Stay where you are!"

She turned around in shock and saw the little brown haired boy standing next to the door like he had been standing there all along.

"I had wondered where you'd gotten off to. Do you know how to open the door? I need to get to the other side," she smiled at the boy so he would see that she was not there to hurt him.

"You mustn't go to the other side!" he took a brisk step forward to show his point.

"But, why not? My friends are on the other side and I must help them," Cat kneeled down so the boy would not be frightened.

"Oh, there's no helping them now," the cat's voice chuckled again from the dark.

"What ever do you mean cat?" Cat turned around to see if the cat would show himself, but he still stayed hidden.

"Use the key if you want to get in," Cat saw a glimmer in the dark and thought it might be the cat's teeth.

"Oh, right, the key," she dug in her pocket for the small golden key.

"No! You must not unlock the door! If you do they will get you!" the little boy grabbed for her arm, but Cat quickly stood up and held he key out of his reach.

"Who will get me?" Cat looked from his face to the dark hall and back.

"The children of course! I've already told you!" Cat turned around and saw the cat coming out of the dark. He was quite a bit larger now and looked all the more menacing indeed.

"But what is the harm in children then?" she tried to stay casual with the cat so he would not have a reason to become angry. She noticed the small boy had inched his way behind her and was clutching the back of her shirt.

"Oh, no harm. Go ahead and use your key. Open the door and then you shall see. It will be fun for you and so much for me. If only you would hurry," the cat curled his lips back further than ever.

"Please, you mustn't," the little boy whispered from behind her.

She turned her head slightly towards him so the cat would not see, "Why not? What is the matter?"

The boy stood up on his toes so she could hear him better, "They aren't the same as you or I. They have no mothers."

On the other side of the door Alucard stood watching in interest as a door began to appear in the wall across from the invisible right hallway.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Master?" Seras stared at the door in awe as it grew larger and larger until it was a full sized door.

"Yes, very interesting is it not. It seems my jest has been answered," he picked up both of his guns and readied himself for whatever entered the room.

Soon after the door finished growing it creaked opened and a small blonde head poked out from behind it. Two very blue eyes surveyed the room before they landed on Seras and Alucard.

"Oy! They are in here!" the little voice whispered then popped back behind the door to push it opened fully.

"Nein nein! Not ull the vay! Don't you remember the entrance ve planned?" another tiny voice chirped.

"Oh right, sorry," the little fingers gripped the edge of the door and pulled it back again.

"Everyvone! Get into positions! Nein you go there remember! Ist everyvone ready? Yes? Okay I vill count down and then ve go!" the small voice started to chirp down from ten.

"What is all this?" Alucard looked at Seras as if she would know more than he did.

"I don't know. They sound like children. Do you think it was only a prank?" she sighed and leaned on her cannon as the little voice continued to count down, missing a few numbers and starting over at least twice.

"I've had enough of this," Alucard flicked his wrist and the door swung wide opened.

The ten small children inside gasped and one that looked older than the rest hollered in anger, "You haf ruined our entrance!" She stomped her small feet on the ground and huffed and puffed.

Alucard, who had learned to deal with children by now, waited silently until she was quite finished.

When she was done stomping the small girl who had hair as black as Alucard's and eyes just as dark stepped forward and motioned for her fellow children to follow her. They all filed out into the room and the last one closed the door behind him. They all stood silently for a moment staring at Alucard and Seras. Slowly each one of them unfolded a thin pair of wings that were on their backs. The wings began to flutter very quickly like a hummingbirds and the children rose into the air.

"Are they…fairies?" Seras watched stunned as the children gently floated back and forth in a double line formation.

"They certainly are not fairies. They are what we came here for. They're vampires. Can you smell it? They reek of blood and you can even see some of their oversized fangs sticking out of their tiny mouths," Alucard laughed at a particularly small child who had covered his mouth in embarrassment.

"But, who made them like this?" Seras watched the children cautiously. They did not look dangerous, but they were vampires. If there were more of them hidden somewhere they could prove to be a problem.

"There are no more of them. They are only children after all and not skilled enough to plan out an attack. They are simply experiments who have been left here as failures and maybe as distractions from something bigger. As to who made them? Who else? The Germans I'm guessing. They shouldn't be too hard to deal with," Alucard raised his gun at the oldest girl who seemed to be the leader.

"You're going to kill them! They're only children Alucard you can't!" Seras ran a few steps forward for fear Alucard would shoot anyway.

"Have you not learned anything in these ten years? Perhaps they were children at one time, but they are monsters now. Ruthless blood sucking things that were too young when they were turned into vampires so they now have no sense of restraint. Have you seen a child have a tantrum before? Well if one of these had a tantrum they could kill everyone who angered them if they chose. No, they are not children, only small beasts," he fired a shot at the girl and she disappeared in a blur. The bullet hit the wall behind her and was dissolved.

"Wow, so fast," Seras backed away from the group of children no longer feeling the need to protect them.

The little girl giggled a few feet away, "You vill haf to try much harder Mister Alucaaaaard," she bounced up and down in the air and tossed her hair teasingly.

"Yes, it would appear so," he laughed and began shooting both guns at once at the group of children. They scattered like little bats and flew around the room as fast as they could. Seras was wondering if they would ever get tired and slip up when she heard one scream and fall onto the ground.

"I got one," Alucard smiled proudly and began re-loading his guns.

"Who ist it!" the eldest girl flew quickly to the scene to see who had been shot, "Ohh it ist only Vinkle. He ist the newest you see, so he hast not had as much practice as the rest of us." She shoed away the rest of the children and flew back to the middle of the room to float about.

"Seras, try and get to Katherine and get out of here. I can handle these children on my own," he locked the clip into his gun and aimed it at the children again.

"Oh nein nein Mister Alucard, you vill not be able to get to her. All vays to her are blocked oontil I decide othervise. You see, Mister Alucard, it ist not you or that girl ve care about. Nein nein, ve vant your precious human. She ist a nice age and vill make a nice addition to our army," the girl giggled uncontrollably.

"Then I will just have to kill all of you now," he began to fire again.

Back on Cat's side of the door things were getting tense.

"Do you mean something happened to their mothers?" Cat leaned down and took the boy by the shoulders, ignoring the cat.

"No! They never had mothers! The man that was here, he tried to use regular children, but it would never work. He had to grow them out of jars so they would have wings that were their own," tears started streaming down the boys face, but he did not make any sound.

"Wings? What kind of children are they?" Cat was forgetting how urgent the boy seemed to be and became curious.

"They shouldn't be called children at all! They're vampires don't you understand? They want you! They don't care about your friends they want to steal you and make you into one of them!" the boy finally lost control and threw his arms around Cat's neck and started to sob.

"Would you unlock the door already? I'm getting tired of all this waiting," the cat had moved up behind her while she was talking to the boy and was now standing very close. He had grown even more and looked to be about three feet tall.

"I don't think I should. He seems so upset and if Alucard is over there then I'm sure he can deal with them," the boy clutched onto her harder and she had to sit down on her knees to keep from falling over.

"No no no no no! You must open the door or your friends will perish!" the cat waved his arms in the air with exasperation.

The boy finally let go of Cat and pointed at the cat angrily, "He's a liar! He knows they want you and he wants to see you get caught! He's always trying to make games out of bad things!"

The cat raised its paw into a fist like he would hit the boy, "I'm not the one who gave her the key you little brat!"

The little boy stepped back aghast at the low remark the cat had throw at him, "I gave her the key so she could use it how she wanted and so _you_ wouldn't try to take it from me!"

"What makes you think I even need a key! I've been here longer than any of you I can do whatever I want in this rotten building!" and with that the cat ran to the door and pushed his paw through the key hole.

"You wouldn't dare you nasty cat!" the little boy ran towards him, but Cat grabbed his arm in fear the cat would scratch him.

"I would dare and I do dare!" he turned his paw in the lock and laughed.

"I thought you were a nice cat, but I guess I was wrong," Cat looked at the cat with visible hurt on her face.

The cat faltered for a moment and frowned, but the door was already unlocked and it had begun to open slowly, "I am a nice cat my dear, but after being in this building for so long with no visitors one must take advantage of excitement when it comes around. I'm sure you will be completely fine. After all, they need you alive."

Dont forget to review!


	51. Does it Feel Different? To Be a Vampire?

_**Sorry it took so long to update guys. The holidays and all you know. Well this is the conclusion to the mission fiiiinally. Do you like the title? What on earth could it mean?! Uh-Oh.  
Enjoy!**_

Does it Feel Different? To Be a Vampire?

The cat quickly turned around and fled back down the hall, disappearing in the dark. Cat looked at the door which was now swinging opened very slowly indeed. She thought to push it opened the rest of the way because she was so anxious to see what was going on on the other side, but she changed her mind when she heard all the gunfire and high pitched laughing.

"We should go," the little boy pulled at her sleeve and started to back away from the door.

"I can't just leave my friends. What if they need my help?" she stood still watching the door open wider and wider.

"Sure you can leave them they're grownups! Grownups don't ever need help and they don't want it from children anyhow. Now come on before it is too late!" the little boy grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her away.

"These are a different kind of grownup and they can always use some sort of help," Cat ignored his please for her to stay and crept quietly towards the door. She peeked her head through and immediately had to bite down on her knuckles to stifle her screech of shock. The sight of children flying around on wings was unbelievable, but so was everything else she had come in contact with in the last few months. "Alucard?" she whispered through the door. She wanted to get his attention, but was afraid one of the strange flying creatures might hear her.

Alucard turned around quite abruptly with some shock on his face. He had not been paying attention to the wall behind him and had not noticed the opening door, "Get back inside there! It's you they're after you'll just complicate things," he took a swift step backwards and tried to slam the door shut, but it would not move an inch.

"Nein! Who opened the door! Ve vere told to keep it shut oontil ve've killed these two! Now ewerything ist ruined!" Cat watched the black haired girl do a violent back flip in the air and punch one of the walls in anger.

"Just stay back in the hall, we'll take care of them," Alucard pushed her out of sight behind the door which had still not finished swinging opened.

"You vill not take care of us Mister wampire. There are far more of us thun of you. Vhat makes you think you cun vin?" the girl giggled and did more flips in the air.

"Seras, guard the door. Don't let these heathen gnats get passed," he reloaded his gun and continued to shoot into the swarm of children, but none of the bullets found their mark.

Cat pressed herself as close to the wall as she could so that the children could not see her. The little boy had finally run away and now she was left in the hall alone. All she could see was Seras standing in front of the door and coming into view more and more every second. Being seen was fast becoming inevitable and Cat could not see what could be done to help. She slid down against the wall and curled her arms around her legs to try to look smaller.

"Releasing Control Art Restriction to level three, level two, level one. Situation A. The Cromwell approval is now in effect. Hold release until target has been silenced," Alucard's arms dropped to the floor with a wet splat as two giant black dog heads grew in their place.

Cat could not help peeking around the door to see what it was Alucard was saying. She had never heard him say it before, but it sounded more like some sort of bluff rather than an actual instruction for something to start up. When she looked down she saw his arms laying in a wet mess of blood on the floor. She looked up with wide eyes at the thing that was standing where Alucard had been. It still had the slight remnants of a human shape, but all human features were gone. The base of the thing was a billowing mass of a black matter that had two appendages coming off of it which Cat assumed were it's arms. They were made up of all spikes and teeth and rows of glowing red eye balls that rolled around blinking fiercely in their sockets. Where most things would keep their heads this thing had a sort of venus fly trap appendage sticking out from the top of it. The shape of the head was vertical rather than horizontal like a venus fly trap, but was lined with many long sharp teeth just the same. It quickly snapped opened and closed like it was excited to be let out from where ever it had come from. When it was done gnashing, it opened itself as wide as it would go and let out an ear splitting shriek. Cat had to cover her ears tightly and even saw that Seras was cringing away from the creature.

When she looked back up the creature was in a position so she was able to see inside the giant tooth lined mouth. Inside it was mostly black, but at the very center of the ominous pit there was one very large eye ball rolling around in anticipation.

The creature, who was still indeed Alucard, stood still when it was finished with its transformation. It stared at the fluttering children with its eye lined tentacles, which twitched at the ends with excitement.

"Ah, Mister wampire thinks he can scare us vith smoke und mirrors? Ve know much better thun this. Just because ve are kleine kinder does not mean ve are scared like them!" the black haired leader zipped around the room faster than Cat could see and giggled manically.

The creature in turn laughed back in a laugh that Cat was surprised to find very familiar and almost calming after seeing such a hideous monster grow in the place of her regular one.

"Oh! The monster has a sense of humor too!" the black haired fairy flitted towards Alucard and back again in a blur. Each time she got near enough she poked one of the red eyes playfully. Each time she poked then they grew redder.

The creature began to wriggle around again and the tentacles slowly multiplied and expanded, but the laughing children did not seem to notice.

Cat thought that since they seemed to have the advantage now it would be alright to come out of the hall and watch the nearing show. She stood up slowly so no one would notice and crept towards Seras who was still standing with her gun raised, but looked much more relaxed. Cat walked up and stood slightly behind her so she would not be so noticeable.

Seras jumped slightly and turned around, "You're supposed to be hiding!"

"Don't you think it's okay now? It looks like we have the upper hand now even if those things don't know it," Cat smiled reassuringly and moved farther behind Seras to make her feel better.

"I suppose so. Just keep very still so they don't notice you," Seras faced forward again so it would not look like she was talking to someone.

"Done," Cat figured Seras was not all that bad. She just wanted to help people and do what was right.

Alucard had grown tired of the children flying around and acting like they were superior. He waited as any predator does for its prey, silent and lethal. The children flew back and forth at blurring speeds taking turns poking the many eyes and swatting at the tentacle. He set his sights on one of the children and carefully watched its movements back and forth. When the time was right he shot out one of his tentacles and grabbed the child around its middle. It screeched in surprise, but that screech was quickly cut off when Alucard shoved the child into the toothy pit and snapped it opened and shut greedily until the child was devoured.

"What! Stop! Eweryvone stop! What ist it that hus just huppened?!" the black haired girl quickly flew to the back wall and hovered just below the ceiling. The other children followed her and stared warily at the massive creature that was now taking up half the room.

"Wow! Did you see how fast he was!" Cat looked at Seras excitedly.

"Yeah, now he just needs to do it eight more times," Seras looked at the children just as wary as they were.

In a split second it all happened. The black haired girl shot a look to where Cat was standing behind Seras. Cat saw the glint of malice in her eyes before the girl spoke quickly under her breath to her comrades, "Bekommen Sie das Mädchen!"

Before anything could be done or even said, two of the children had grabbed Cat by her waist on either side and were hovering with her in the air on the other side of the room. Cat did not even have time to be afraid.

The monster began to writhe and flail around angrily and in its rage spit up the bloody remains of the fairy child it had eaten onto the floor below the others just to be cruel.

"Ah, vhat vill you do now Mister Alucard? Ve've got das girl und you haf no vay to save her. You vill just haf to gif up und leef. Vhat a shame you should lose so quickly because you spoiled our game. Ve vere hafing so much fun oontil you had to go und play dirty. Now you only haf yourself to blame," the girl twirled her hair around her finger and smiled.

Seras danced on the spot, eager to shoot at the annoying children and get Katherine safely away.

"_Be patient,"_ Alucard's voice came from inside of her head, "I must release Control Art Restriction Systems to level zero. It's the only way to get rid of them quickly."

"But what about Katherine? Won't it kill her too?" Seras looked at the mass of tentacles and teeth and sniffled.

"_I can keep from killing her, but the things she will see…there is no telling how it will change her. As soon as you see her fall out of the darkness grab her and run back to the truck. Wrap her in blankets. She'll be covered in death."_

Seras backed into the hallway behind Alucard in hopes it would make the children think they had given up.

"Releasing Control Art Restriction Systems to level Zero. The Cromwell approval is now in effect. Hold release until the target has been silenced," a cold blackness began to creep across the floor and the walls. It looked the way fog does when it sits low on a field, but much thicker and more sinister.

"You hast better stop it right now or ve'll rip her into shreds!" the black haired fairy danced around the two that were holding Cat up.

Cat knew what was happening. There was no trick she could play this time to keep herself alive. The only way to get rid of the children would be to get rid of her at the same time. Maybe there would be enough of her left when Alucard was finished so she could be turned into a vampire as well. At least then she would be able to stay with him forever even if it meant following in the same footsteps as Seras. Cat had always found her story a little sad if not pathetic. She wondered if blood would really be that bad to drink. It was donated after all.

Before she was finished thinking and before she had time to frighten herself any further she and the children were enveloped into the dark mass of teeth and tentacles. She felt the hands of the children leave her arms as they tried to flee the blackness, but she remained floating where she was. Ear splitting screams filled the air around her and she felt warm splashes of liquid hit her body. She felt teeth scraping against her arms and legs and soon something began to slink its way up her body and tighten around her waist.

Katherine was sure that this was finally the end. After all the times she almost died it was funny to finally be killed by the one she adored most. It was easy to run from something you feared, easy to fight something you hated, but when you loved the one who was killing you there was nothing you could do. She closed her eyes and relaxed her body, hoping it would not hurt too badly to be ripped apart.

"_You've always given up too easily. Ever since you were a child."_

Cat felt herself sinking down lower from the place she had been dangling. She opened her eyes again and could see the many red eyes and teeth. Some were still chewing on the mangled remains of the children. What was left of their faces was a horrible twisted mess of gaping jaws and eyes wide opened with shock. The tentacle which had wrapped itself around her now flexed in the way a snake does when it is swallowing prey. As it did this Cat was pushed further downwards to what she assumed was the floor, but it was impossible to tell with all the black mass around and the bits and pieces of body floating around her. She wiggled her fingers to see if she could move then reached her hand to her hair and felt it. It was drenched with something that was cold and slimy. She thought the rest of her body must be covered as well, though inside the blackness she did not feel cold.

Outside she heard someone call out. It sounded like hurry up, but she was not sure.

After what felt like an eternity she felt the tentacle stop moving her downwards and it began to unwind itself from her. As soon as it had released her entirely she felt like gravity was abruptly turned back on and she fell swiftly and shortly downwards. When she broke through the blackness it felt like breaking the surface of a swimming pool when you did a cannonball, only backwards. She grunted as she landed on her back. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was the huge mass of black and red with dripping bits and flailing tentacles floating above her. After they were closed she felt someone pick her up and begin to run.

She felt safe now and soon drifted into a stress induced sleep. She briefly awoke when she felt warm blankets being wrapped around her and heard soft familiar voices.

"Is she going to be alright?" Dallas looked at Cat with concern and scooted to the far side of the bench, away from Alucard.

"Aye, she's tough zat one! She'll be fine once zat mess is cleaned off 'er and she 'as a nice long sleep and somezing to eat. Speaking of somezing to eat, I'm starving. Let's get ze 'ell out of 'ere fast," the soldier hit the gas hard and Cat felt the truck begin to rock violently back and forth.

Soon the rocking put her to sleep and when she awoke next she felt the soft warmth of her cozy bed. She carefully cracked one eye opened and saw that the curtains were opened and the moon was still high in the sky. She opened her eye a bit more and saw a silhouette by the window. When she was very sure that no face was looking at her she opened her eye completely and smiled.

Alucard was standing at the window staring at the moon. Cat admired how strangely human he looked with only his black pants and white shirt. His hair was even shorter than it usually was.

"Are you awake?" he kept his back towards her.

She shut her eye tightly and thought of faking sleep, but then realized he already knew she was awake and was only asking to be polite, "Yes."

"Do you remember what happened tonight?"

Cat rolled her eyes at the question, "Yes," how could she forget?

"I am sorry."

Cat's eyes widened, "What?"

Alucard turned away from the window and looked at her from the corner of his eye, "I am sorry. For what had to happen to you, I am sorry."

Cat pushed herself further up on the pillows and starred at him with narrow eyes. It was a simple thing to say to anyone, but she was not sure she should trust it coming from him. It could mean something was wrong. Maybe she was dying. Maybe she was severely disfigured. Maybe she was already dead and she was a vampire! Did it feel different to become a vampire? Would she crave blood right away? Would she be tired? She did not feel tired, but who knew how long she had been asleep for. She watched Alucard's face change into a scowl. What was she thinking! This was a once in a lifetime thing and she was ruining it with stupid thoughts!

"It's okay, I'm fine," he gave her a look that was hardly relief, "But, thank you…for being sorry I mean. Or for caring…enough to apologize. Thanks." She mentally smacked herself in the head for sounding so dumb, but Alucard's face softened despite her clumsy words.

"Well, goodnight then," he turned and headed for the door.

"Yeah, goodnight," Cat waited until he was through the door then slumped back into the pillows. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment before throwing the covers back and running to the bathroom. She flicked the light on and looked in the mirror. "Still green," she sighed with some relief and some slight disappointment, "I should have guessed that dying wouldn't have been that nice."

She switched the light off and walked back to bed. She crawled in slowly and nestled herself under the covers. All she wanted to do was sleep for a week and forget about the awkward and uncomfortable night. She laughed to herself before she fell asleep. The word awkward seemed a funny choice for a night that many people would call terrifying beyond belief.

* * *

_**Don't forget to review duckies. **_


	52. Sir Hunton

_**Alright, I have a few things to say. First, Happy belated Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. Second, I am soooo sorry it took me so long to update, but I've not been able to think of a single thing to write. I've made it longer than usual though in hopes of appeasing your appetites. And Lastly, I'm not sure if anyone actually knows what the date is or has a general idea of the date or how long Cat has been at Hellsing. I've sometimes left context clues about what month it is, but just to clear it all up right now Cat arrived at Hellsing on May 1st and it is now October 15 in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy and I will try to get another chapter up much sooner this time! **_  
**_Ever Yours  
Sara_**

Sir Hunton

Cats eyes fluttered opened to the sound of chirping birds and honking cars. She shivered and pulled the covers up to her chin as a cold draft of air blew in through the window.

"It was so warm last night and now it's freezing!" she quickly jumped out of bed and slammed the window before anymore icy air could get through, "I hate the winter, it's so dreadful."

It was still fairly early so she stood next to the bed trying to decide if she wanted to go back to sleep for a few hours or just give up on laziness and go out. After a while she decided she had been mindlessly standing too long anyway so she headed to the bathroom for a shower.

While she was in the shower she thought she heard the doorbell, but no one ever came to the house so she shrugged and finished washing her hair. When she got out of the shower she swore she heard voices in the hall, but she assumed this was her imagination because no one ever had a reason to be in the hall and the only person who would ever be there at all would be alone and silent. She left the bathroom and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. After she secured her hair into a high ponytail she left the room and headed down the hall towards the stairs. When she turned the corner for the second set of stairs she ran into the last person she would have expected.

"Sir Hunton?" she stopped short as the man who had been descending the stairs turned around in surprise.

"Oh hello Katherine! They told me you were still sleeping. I was just on my way back downstairs to wait in the library," he walked back up the stairs and stood on a lower one so they were at the same height.

"Wait for what?" Cat raised one eyebrow.

"For you of course. I came to spend the day here and look around. I'll be living here soon you know. I thought that Integra would show be around, but she seems to be very busy and I was shoed away rather quickly. She told me to go bother you until at least two o'clock," his face fell slightly.

"Oh, I'm sure she didn't mean it. I mean, she is very busy, but she doesn't mean to brush you off so. She's just new to all of this dating stuff. It isn't even dating really, more like courting with an unavoidable end," Sir Hunton now raised his eyebrow at her, "I'm sorry I don't mean it like it's bad. She's just a different kind of woman from all the rest. You understand right?"

"Yes, I suppose I do. The Queen warned me about her, but I was excited none the less. Are you hungry? I make a mean omelet," he winked and ushered her down stairs to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen Cat sat down at one of the tall center counters and rested her chin on the cold marble.

"How do you take it?" Sir Hunton pulled opened the door to one of the large refrigerators.

"A lot of vegetables and some cheese and some bacon," her stomach grumbled in response to the thought of food, "and a diced tomato on top after it's done so it's cold."

"Just what I love, a girl who knows exactly what she wants and isn't afraid to ask," he pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge and started balancing ingredients on top.

"Is that why you like Integra?" Cat stretched her arm out on the counter and rested her head on it. She liked Sir Hunton, but she had not expected to be spending the day with him and was a bit put off by so much talking in the early morning.

"Yes, that's one reason. Not the only one though of course," he finished piling ingredients into his arms and carried them across the kitchen to the chopping counter.

"What other reasons are there?" Cat closed her eyes dreamily.

"Do I sense sarcasm?" Sir Hunton turned around and raised an eyebrow at her, but she did not see.

"None what so ever, I'm just making conversation," she rolled her eyes behind their lids and waited for him to answer.

"Well I don't know. There are a lot of things I suppose. Of course I'm attracted to her and I respect her for her accomplishments. I'm older you see, and to find someone who is still young, but has all the appeal of an older and wiser woman is delightful," he dumped a handful of chopped vegetables into a pan and they began to sizzle.

Cat scoffed at his ignorant remark.

"What is it?" he looked at her curiously.

"I hope you haven't said that to her. No women no matter how accomplished or smart wants to hear that they 'have all the appeal of an older women' it just isn't flattering," she gave up on napping on the counter and went to the fridge for a glass of milk.

"No, I haven't said much to her at all actually. I'm planning to take her to dinner tonight whether she wants to go or not. You'll have the house completely to your self. I've told Walter of my plan and he decided that it was time for him to take a night off as well."

Cat stood by the fridge sipping the milk and thinking of what he had just said. Having the house to herself might be nice. She could snoop around in the library without anyone disturbing her and she could even run through the halls screaming. She had been feeling very cooped up ever since the last mission. Integra had not sent her out at all for fear she was still traumatized by what had happened, but the fact of the matter was that she felt better than ever. She had slept off the initial shock of it all and that was that. She did not need to mourn and feel apathetic for days, it just was a waste of time. An empty house would be absolutely perfect.

"Cat?" Sir Hunton stood with the frying pan staring at her.

"Huh?" she snapped back to attention.

"Will you hand me the plate behind you?" he looked at her expectantly.

"Oh, right sorry," she grabbed the plate off the counter by the fridge and quickly carried it to the center bar so he could dump the omelet onto it.

"What were you thinking of? You looked like you were completely somewhere else," he slid the plate over to her chair and began putting utensils into the sink.

"Um, nothing I guess. I don't know I was just thinking," she took a bite of eggs and sighed.

"So how are you and your boyfriend doing?" Sir Hunton sat down across from her and smiled.

Cat nearly choked on the eggs and sputtered a mouthful back onto her plate, "What?!"

"Your boyfriend, how is he. Lucian I think his name was? Or was it Colin? I can't remember I'm getting old," Cat stared at him as he spoke. He looked completely serious.

"Lucian and Colin are two different people and neither one of them is my boyfriend. I don't think I said anything about either of them the one time I spoke to you so how do you even know about them?" Cat cautiously took a sip of milk.

"Oh…well, Alucard was telling me I should ask you about it. I guess I should have known to be more suspicious. I'm sorry if I offended you," he twisted his hands together and looked down at the table.

"It's fine I wasn't offended just a little shocked is all. Alucard was still awake when you got here?" she stabbed another bite of egg with her fork.

"No actually he came to see me last night around ten. It was his idea for me to come by today and spend the day here and take Integra to dinner. He said I should bond with you as well," Sir Hunton looked slightly less embarrassed.

"Bond with me? What else did he say _exactly_," Cat began to eat faster. She wanted to get the morning and afternoon over with soon so she could search in the library.

"First he said that Integra would enjoy spending the day with me and that she had been thinking about it a lot. I found out that was not true when I got here and she shoed me away. After that he said I must make you like me and that it took a lot for you to like someone and if you didn't like me then Integra would not think very much of me and it would be all the harder for me to live here with two women who weren't fond of me. Then he listed things I should talk about and ask both of you and said it would surely win your hearts," he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Wow, that's…wow," Cat chewed thoughtfully, "Well, just forget everything he said to you and if he ever says anything to you again just nod and agree and then ignore it. You really can't trust anything he says about those sorts of things. You needn't worry about getting me to like you and I'm sure Integra could care less if I like you. It wouldn't affect how she feels. Taking her out to dinner is fine I'm sure she'll enjoy it, but whatever you do don't say any of the things Alucard told you. I'm sure they are all things that would severely get under her skin. Stick to whatever it is people talk about when they go out on dates," she took the last bite of egg and downed the rest of her milk, "That was really good Sir Hunton thank you."

"Oh please stop calling me that! It's Alex, just plain Alex and I won't tolerate anything else," he plucked her plate from the counter and carried it to the sink.

"Okay okay I'll try," as she got up to pour another glass of milk the kitchen doors swung opened loudly and Lucian came running in. As soon as he saw Alex he skidded to a stop and snapped to attention.

"Lieutenant General Sir!"

"At ease soldier," Alex saluted him with a dish towel in his hand.

"Permission to speak with Miss Katherine, Sir!" Lucian still stood with his head held up and without looking at anyone.

"Permission granted soldier," Alex waved the dish rag absently and did not bother turning around. After all the complaining about his name Cat figured he was only humoring Lucian.

"Will you come out into the hall with me for a second?" Lucian finally relaxed his stance and looked at Cat impatiently.

"Yeah sure," she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and followed him out through the kitchen doors and slightly down the hall to the right. She laughed to herself a little when she remembered this was the way she had taken when she had explored on her first day in the mansion.

Lucian stopped abruptly and turned around to face her, "Okay! I don't know if you're going to go for this, but I'm going to ask you anyway." He took a breath ready to ask whatever it was he was so excited about, but then stopped, "Hello by the way. I haven't talked to you let alone seen you in ages. Where have you been?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. I live in the same house that you're at every day. It's been nearly three months which is completely pathetic. I don't count seeing you in the halls and waving either," she smiled widely at him and he laughed.

"You need to get a cell phone! You're probably the only girl I know that doesn't have one," he bent over and hugged her.

"Yeah I guess I do, but I don't know who I would call," she hugged him back with one arm and balanced her milk carefully with the other.

He let go of her and gave her a false look of hurt, "Me of course. So anyway, what I wanted to ask you…"

"Yeah spit it out already you're making me anxious," she gulped down the glass of milk quickly just in case whatever he was going to say made her lose her interest in ingesting anything.

"Well, Integra is going to be gone tonight right? And Walter is going out too since there won't really be any need for him here. So Pip got the idea that we could maybe have a little party," he looked at her expectantly.

"Uh, okay…why are you asking me?" she looked at him like he was weird.

"Pip said we had to. He said that since Integra was leaving Walter would be in charge and since Walter is leaving charge falls to you. So it's up to you if we go through with it or not," he clasped his hands together and put them under his chin like a praying child.

"That doesn't even make any sense! Wouldn't the charge fall to Ferguson?" Cat shifted from one foot to the other.

"No, he's in charge of the Special Forces not of the house. Common just give me an answer so I can go back and tell them. We have to start planning now if we're going to pull it off," he started to hop up and down like an excited kid.

"Whatever, I don't care," before she could say another word he was picking her up and hugging her violently. "Okay okay! That's enough of that," he set her down and she rubbed her squashed arms. "Are you having it inside the house?"

"Yeah, its going to be in the back yard and we're going to open the back doors so people can go into the sun room and the foyer and stuff," before he had finished talking he was already walking back down the hall.

"Just don't mess anything up Lucian!" she called after him.

"Shhhh! You have to keep it quiet. If anyone finds out we're dead meat!" he walked sideways past the kitchen door so Alex could not see his face and he help his finger to his lips.

"Yeah whatever…." Cat rolled her eyes at his back and stood looking out the windows that faced the street. She wondered if she should try and get a hold of Colin and ask him to come. There would probably be enough people so that Lucian would not notice.

"Cat?" Alex pushed opened the kitchen doors and peaked into the hall.

Cat jumped a little, "Yeah, I'm finished."

"Is everything all right? That seemed urgent," he strolled down the hall with his hands in his pockets. Cat thought he might be trying to look cool.

"It wasn't. You know boys, they're always so dramatic," she skirted around him and went back into the kitchen to put her cup in the sink. He had washed all of the dishes by hand and put them in the vegetable rack rather than just put them in the dishwasher. She stopped for a minute before she went out the door trying to think of some things she could show him that would take up a sufficient amount of time. The only thing she could think of was the library and the shooting range. It probably would not be a good idea to take him down the halls she had first explored.

"Are you ready to go?" Alex popped his head through the kitchen door.

"Yeah, where are we going?" maybe she could just rely on him to waste time.

"Oh, I don't know I just meant 'go' as a general word. Don't you have some good ideas for a tour?" he smiled and held the door for her.

"No, I've never really had to show anyone around and I haven't even explored that much my self. I guess I could show you the elevator," Cat began to walk to the stair case that did not lead to the elevator.

"I didn't know there was an elevator. Why doesn't anyone ever use it?" he followed her excitedly.

"I don't know I guess it's for emergencies? Walter only took me on it once. I hope I can find it," at the top of the stairs she turned away from the direction the elevator was in and started tapping the walls.

Over the next hour and a half Cat passed by the elevator at least four times. She made casual conversation to pass the time and acted like she had no idea where the elevator was. She even sat down at the end of the hall where the elevator was located and chatted for another half hour, acting like she was tired from searching. She finally got bored and when the reached the spot where the elevator was she dramatically kicked the wall in false frustration and it quickly swung opened.

"Well would you look at that! We must have passed here three or four times! I guess you just weren't tapping hard enough, huh?" Alex peaked into the elevator and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Lets see if it goes anywhere else besides down," Cat stepped into the elevator and waited for Alex to situate himself safely in the middle before she hit an arrow that was pointing left rather than up or down.

The elevator sped off to the left causing Alex and Cat to stumble sideways.

"Is it supposed to be going this fast?" Alex kept a steady hand on one of the elevators wooden panels in case they were jolted again.

"I guess so. This is how fast it went when Walter took me downstairs," Cat studied the other buttons. There was an up and down arrow and a left and right arrow. There was also a red button with a hand with its palm out that Cat assumed meant stop. Below that there was a green button with a thumbs up hand on it and next to it was a yellow button with a picture of a stair case. On the other side of the thumbs up button there was another yellow button with a widely grinning smiley face and below the thumbs up button there was a white button with an ambulance. Before Cat could decide which one she wanted to push the elevator came to a terribly quick stop and they were throw into the wall opposite of them.

"Well it gets you around fast enough," Alex brushed off the sawdust that had been knocked loose from the elevators flimsy frame and onto his pants.

"Push the wall and see where we've gone," Cat tussled her own hair to be sure no sawdust had gotten into it.

Alex pushed the wall in front of them and it swung opened easily. They both peaked out to see where they were and found they were still in a hallway only they seemed to be facing another direction.

"Did you feel us turn at all?" Cat looked up and down the hall curiously, but she could not see any turns around.

"No, I didn't. I didn't even know elevators went sideways. Nothing functions normally in this house," he stepped back in the elevator and surveyed the buttons, "Why don't we push the up one and then push a sideways one before we've stopped?"

"Do you think it will let us?" Cat stepped back inside the elevator as well and looked at him skeptically.

"There's only one way to find out," he pushed the up button and they shot upwards for one moment, but stopped again very quickly.

"I think we're as up as we can go," she pushed the wall again and it popped opened with a creak. She looked out into the hall and found it to be a very short one that ended with a wall instead of a turn. It was very dusty and dirty and smelled a bit like mold.

"I guess this is the attic or something?" Alex waved his hand in front of his face as if the smell was overwhelming.

"Okay, well let's try down and to the right then since we've already stopped going left," she stepped back inside and braced herself for the quick movements the elevator made.

Alex pressed the down button and counted to two before he hit the arrow pointing right. Cat screamed as they changed directions almost instantly and she fell onto the elevator floor.

"Are you alright!" Alex leaned down to pick her up, but she started to laugh.

"Hit the up button again!" she rocked forward so she was on her hands and knees and sat down like a dog so she would be more stable.

Alex followed suit then reached up and mashed the up button. They quickly changed direction once again and Cat hollered for him to hit the left button once again.

After they went as far as they could left they began the process of going up and down and sideways in the other direction until they went as far as they could that way. They repeated this process for the next hour until they became quite tired from keeping their balance and collapsed laughing onto the elevator floor. After a half hour of spontaneous giggles and reminiscing on what had only just gone on they finally stood up and pushed against the wall to see where they were.

"You know it really doesn't matter if we look out to see where we've gone. Every single hall in this place looks the same. The only way to know what floor you're on is to make sure you know what floor you've started off at and keep tack of how many times you've gone up or down. It's really ridiculous I think," Cat stood in the middle of the hall and looked back and forth until she was satisfied that it would not help her decide which floor she was on.

"You could go into one of the rooms and look out a window," Alex tugged on a door that was directly in front of the elevator, but it was securely locked.

"You'll find most of them like that I'm betting. One day I explored at least five hallways and each door was locked and when one wasn't locked it was only an empty room or one with covered furniture. If Hellsing ever goes out of business Integra could always open up a hotel. We could give rides on the elevator for extra and do haunted tours where Alucard would jump out from behind things and scare people," Cat laughed at the stupid idea and got back into the elevator.

"Should we just go to the very bottom now and get off where it leaves us?" Alex got back in as well and pulled the edge of the wall hard so that it would swing shut.

"We still haven't pushed some buttons though," Cat mashed the right arrow button without waiting for Alex to be situated and then before they had gone far at all she pushed the stop button. They stopped so quickly that they were both flung into the side of the elevator and fell down to the floor in a pile.

"Wasn't it a bit obvious what that one was going to do?" Alex rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the wall and stumbled to his feet.

"I suppose so, but we still had to push it. Do you think the thumbs up makes us go faster? Or maybe the smiley face does that," Cat pushed the left arrow this time to be sure they had enough time to push another button before they came to the end of the mansion. She hesitated for a moment and then pushed the thumbs up button. As she had guessed it made them go faster and when they reached the end they were stopped almost as violently as the stop button had done.

"What on earth could the smile be for?" Alex sat down on the floor of the elevator while Cat pushed the right arrow. She waited a few seconds and then hit the smiley face button.

"I don't think anything happened," Alex looked around the elevator to see if anything in it had changed.

"Maybe it's broken?" Cat looked at the button and was getting ready to press it again when the elevator suddenly shot upwards.

Cat fell onto the floor next to Alex and before she could situate herself the elevator jerked to the left and then up once again in one quick movement. It traveled up for no more than two seconds before it abruptly stopped once again.

"Well, that was interesting," Alex stood up and helped Cat to her feet.

Cat reached forward and pushed on the wall. It slowly swung opened revealing what the smiley face had to hide, "This is the same dirty attic room we came to before!" Cat frowned and stepped out into the short dirty hallway.

"Maybe there's something behind one of the door? Let's try them all shall we?" Alex walked to the end of the hall and pulled on one of the doors. Cat stood and watched as he made his way back to the elevator, trying three more doors on his way, "Aren't you going to help?"

Cat stepped forward and pulled on the door that was in front of the elevator. With a popping sound and a creak it came opened easily.

"Hm, beginners luck," he pushed the door opened further and went inside.

Cat followed after him and looked around, "Wow, it's like an old tea room."

Alex went across the room and pulled opened the curtains so the sun could get in.

"Wow! It's gorgeous! It's a little dusty and gross, but wow. It's all Victorian style, you wouldn't even be able to tell that it was modern if you didn't know," Cat walked around the room brushing dust off different things and surveying the trinkets that were on the small coffee tables and burrow.

"Maybe it is Victorian. It looks like it's been sitting alone for that long anyway. I wonder if Integra knows about it," Alex went over to what looked like a brown dresser with white paneling and wiped a finger across it, "Hey look at this. This is a glass door bookcase. There's so much dust it looks solid."

Cat skipped across the room and began to look for a knob to open the bookcase doors.

Alex brushed off some more dust and found a small knob that was covered in so much dust it was nearly invisible, "Here it is." He pulled on the knob and the door popped opened to reveal rows of books inside that looked as clean as they were the day they were printed.

Cat started going over the titles of all the books and found she did not recognize any in the first row or in the second row. She came to the third row and saw it contained _Wuthering Heights_, but that was all she knew.

"It looks like this was a ladies study," Alex went around to the sofa and patted it so a cloud of dust rose up into the air.

"How do you know," Cat continued skimming though the books and opened the middle door to the bookcase.

"The way it's decorated and all those books are ones you would find women reading more often than men," he looked down at his watch and saw that it had already gotten quite late in the afternoon, "Come along, I have to meet Integra at her office at four and it's already half past three."

Cat shut the book case so none of the dust could get inside and walked out of the room reluctantly. After Alex closed the door and they were back in the elevator she sighed, "Will you promise not to tell Integra about that room just yet? I should like to explore in it some more and I'm afraid if you say something about it it may turn out to be something she is hiding or maybe something she doesn't want anyone to disturb."

"I suppose I could keep it a secret," he pushed the down arrow and the elevator plummeted downwards at a dizzying rate.

"Don't tell her we've bee using the elevator either. I don't think we're supposed to be playing on it like this," she looked at his face to be sure she could trust him and was satisfied by his sincere nod.

After a moment the elevator stopped suddenly and they pushed the wall to see where it had set them down, "Well look at that." Alex stepped out and Cat followed him to find they were in the front foyer.

"That's convenient. This is where it set me and Walter when he took me in it the first time. I wonder if it does it on purpose," Cat pushed the wall shut and listened to see if the elevator would go back up to where it started.

"You say it as though it has a mind of its own," he straightened the blazer he was wearing and pulled a tie out of his pocket and began to fasten it around his neck.

"How late do you think you'll be out with Integra?" Cat asked slyly.

"Oh I don't know. I'm going to take her to drinks and then we'll be off to dinner and then perhaps dessert and maybe for a drive afterwards? What do you think?" he shimmied the knot of the tie up to his neck and adjusted it around his collar.

"Have you thought about taking her to the museum? I would say take her dancing, but I'm sure she would be appalled. She's more the museum type and I think they have some sort of exhibit going on now," Cat fidgeted with her feet, ready to leave and find Lucian so he could tell her more about the party.

"That is actually an incredibly good idea and I don't think I would have ever thought of it. In fact if she had not fancied a drive I would have suggested dancing. You are very handy indeed aren't you?" he patted the side of her head and then headed up the stairs and down the hall to Integra's office.

"Finally!" Cat turned and went out through the back door and ran towards the soldiers barracks. She enjoyed Sir Hunton very much, but she was glad to be away from him and was excited to see what kind of party it was that Pip and Lucian were so eagerly planning.

**_Don't forget to review!_**


	53. The Party

_**I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever! This is a really short chapter because I mostly wanted to let you know I'm still alive and I haven't ditched the story. I have school and work and other art projects that I've been doing so this kind of got shoved on the back burner, but don't worry. There is still more story to be had and I'm excited about where things are going.**_

_**Enjoy and Review.  
**_

The Party

Cat stepped out the back door that led out to the soldiers barracks. She looked at the long house they used for target practice and then over to the one they used for sleeping quarters. Neither one looked like much was going on inside. She trudged down the path and slowly opened the barrack door. Noise exploded out like a nuclear bomb and she slammed the door shut again.

"It's completely sound proof…," she rubbed the ear that had taken most of the blast. She stood looking around for a moment feeling a little awkward. Parties were really not her thing. She did not fit in with the bouncing noisy people that went to them. Just as she began to consider turning back to the house and going to the library the door swung open and admitted the beastly noise once again.

"Cat! What are you doing standing out 'ere! Come in love!" Pip grabbed her arm before she could say anything and dragged her into the barracks.

The long room had been cleared. All of the bunk beds and tables were shoved against the far end and one table had been set in the middle against a wall and was set up with speakers and an old record player. A young soldier was standing behind the table and looking through records. Other soldiers were yelling and throwing streamer back and forth, making sure all of the rafters were sufficiently covered.

"Is this a children's party?" Cat smirked at him. He was standing proudly with his hands on his hips and looking around at the room.

"A children's party…no! No, it's a going away party. Where 'ave you been? We've been planning all week and 'oping to get a good chance and now we 'ave it and you don't even know what's going on," he shoved her head and ruffled her hair.

"Yeah, alright alright, who's going away then?" she slapped his hand away from her and threw a light punch at his face.

"Seras of course! My Christ Poppet you really 'ave no idea of anyzing going on around you. She's going back to 'er job in South America. She should be 'ere soon. I zink she is just 'aving a last chat wiz Mister Alucard. 'E's ze one who made 'er into a vampire you know? I zink she missed 'im a lot while she was gone. Maybe 'e missed 'er too, who knows? Vampires are 'ard to understand, almost as 'ard as women! Now you go outside by ze corner of ze 'ouse and when Sir 'Ellsing and 'er date pull away and you see Walter 'ead off you come and yell the all clear. It won't be too long now Poppet. We're going to 'ave a 'ell of a time," he opened the door again and gave her a brisk shove outside. As soon as the door snapped shut the music was gone and things were eerily silent.

Cat walked over to the house and peaked around the corner just enough to see the back of a black car sitting in the driveway. She plopped down onto the grass and slumped against the wall. She sighed and twirled a piece of her hair.

What could Seras and Alucard be talking about? She did not think that Alucard was one for reminiscing, but maybe since Seras was his own fledgling it was different. She tried to think about what the soldier had told her on the way to the last mission, but she was too bothered. Alucard had barley spoken to her since then and she had not even acted odd in the slightest. After she had gotten up the next day she was fine absolutely fine and here everyone was making a big deal about it. Even Alucard who was supposed to be the one constant in her life. Never changing and always predictable and unpredictable at the same time. How was she supposed to keep up a state of normal mental health when so many things in this place were far from normal? Visiting vampire spawn from South America, missions full of things that made no sense at all, moody vampires who could not make up their minds about anything.

Cat found herself wondering if Alucard liked her. She pinched her arm as a punishment for thinking something so childish. The Hellsing household was not high school and Alucard was not a boy that sat behind her and smacked her in the back of the head with a book every once in a while. He was a vampire who was hundreds of years old and who had probably killed thousands of people and things. Monsters did not fall for humans. And humans should not fall in love with monsters no matter how charming or handsome or powerful or strong or protecting or…. She smacked her head against the wall of the house and drove all wandering thoughts out of it.

"You should no better by now Katherine," she said aloud to herself to make the point more clear.

She stood up and peaked around the corner again. She could see Integra getting into the car. She was wearing a dress that came down to her knee. Her hair was swept up into a knot that was held in place by some chopsticks. She looked very nice and Cat was relieved to see she was not scowling. Alex got into the drivers seat of the car and they pulled out of the driveway and down the street. Soon after she saw Walter come out the front door carrying a bicycle. He set it down at the bottom of the steps and hopped on. She giggled as he pedaled off sitting very upright like the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz when she was still the mean lady who wanted to kill Toto. She waited until he was around the corner and then turned around to go back to the barracks. When she was half way there she saw Seras step out the back door and walk towards them as well. She took a deep breath and readied herself for a night of awkward dancing and even more awkward conversation.

**_Don't forget to review!_**


	54. A Party Escape

Next chapter. Short, but soon as was desired.

A Party Escape

Cat thought about escaping around the side of the house, but Seras was a vampire and probably knew Cat was there before she stepped outside the door. She must only be acting normal to make things less awkward.

Cat thought that it made things even more awkward.

Seras faked a random glance in Cat's direction and smiled with pleasant surprise at seeing her, "Oh hi, are you coming to the party?"

"Yes, Lucian dragged me out here," Cat glumly fell in step next to her.

"It shouldn't be all that bad. Just Pip and some of the guys I think," Seras reached for the door, but paused, "Oh dear."

"What? Is something wrong?" Cat eyed her quizzically.

"The gun shed," Seras cringed.

"What about it?" Cat was starting to feel hysterical. Seras was just like Alucard. Did she think Cat could read her mind?

Seras moaned as if in agony and let her arm drop to her side, "It's completely full of people waiting for the party. There's got to be at least a hundred of them."

"A hundred?! My God. I didn't think Pip was going to go this crazy," Cat looked over at the gun shed to see if she could see anyone peaking out the windows.

"Ooh what am I going to do?" Seras started to look around just as Cat had done when she was looking for an escape route.

"Oh no you don't! You're going to go in there and enjoy your going away party. Or at least suffer through it. Pip is really fond of you he'll be upset if you don't go," Cat pushed her towards the door and she did not resist. She stumbled forward just like any regular human would have done.

Seras reached for the door again, but stopped and turned around abruptly, "What if I tell you what Alucard was telling me. He told me not to tell you, but I think we could keep it secret long enough for me to get out of England."

Cat froze and started to consider the bargain. She nearly gave in, but was interrupted when Pip flung opened the door with a huge grin on his face, "Are zey gone?"

"Yes zey're gone. Walter left on 'is bicycle a few minutes ago," she rolled her eyes at his eagerness.

"Are you making fun of me?" he poked out his lip and turned down the corners of his mouth.

"Oh no, I would never," she grinned at him cheekily and he snatched both her a Seras by the arm and dragged them inside.

The room was still booming with music, but the soldiers had managed to drape enough streamers over the rafters so that the room did not look half bad. A table had been set up with punch, snacks, booze, and Cat saw a cooler on the floor next to it full of ice that was part way covering the unmistakable red medical bags.

"Pip, I thought you said it was going to be a small party. There are nearly a hundred people hiding in the gun shed," Seras squirmed under the grip of his hand on her arm, but did not break away from it.

Cat knew that if she wanted to she could easily snap his arm clean off. She wondered if the girl they referred to as Kitten and Police Woman was really still attached to her human self as much as they made her out to be. She dressed human enough and she acted nothing but human. Cat found herself again wondering if it felt different to be a vampire.

"Come and dance wiz me before ze ozer guests are let out of zeir pen," Cat watched Pip pull Seras out into the middle of the floor and dance with her in a twirly half slow half go-go fashion.

What could Alucard have told Seras? Obviously it was about her other wise Seras would not have bothered mentioning it because it would have had no leverage in a negotiation. Seras was told not to tell her so it was either something that was going to scare her or make her angry. But this was Alucard so it would not matter to him if she was angry so it had to be the scare scenario. But, then again, this was Alucard. Why would he care if something scared her? Maybe it was something that would spark….

"Hey!" Lucian came up behind Cat and grabbed her shoulders.

"Ahhh! Don't do that! Are you crazy! Scaring someone who works for Hellsing. It's just cruel. As if I don't get scared enough," she took a deep breath and tried to steady her quivering.

"Are you alright? I didn't think you spooked that easily. Are you upset about Seras? I know it's sad she isn't staying longer," he patted her shoulder to consol her.

"I'm not sad about her leaving," Cat thought that Seras could probably hear her so she added to her blunt statement, "I like her and all, but I just didn't know her for all that long you know? So she's still sort of just a stranger. I'm sure she'll visit again." It was true that Cat was not exactly fond of Seras who had disrupted her new life at Hellsing, but she had no intentions of hurting the extra sensitive vampire's feelings.

"Yeah I guess that's true. She was a whole lot of fun though. You missed most of it because you were moping around in the library so much. What do you do in there anyway?" he suavely picked up her hand and started to lead her towards the dance floor.

"What do you think I do in a room full of books? I read them obviously," she rolled her eyes exasperated. She wanted to get away from the party as soon as she could.

"You're very irritable today," he stopped a little ways from Pip and Seras and put his free hand on her waist.

"What are you doing," she asked in a tone of complaint.

"What do you think I'm doing in the middle of a dance floor? Dancing obviously," he spun her around and she gave in hoping it would make him happy enough so she could sneak away later without him noticing.

As they were dancing Cat saw Pip pick up his radio and say something. About twenty seconds later the barracks flooded with a rush of the people who had been hiding in the gun shed. There were men and women of various ages. Some seemed to be the friends of the Wild Geese, some of the older Hellsing soldiers, and some of the younger. Lucian danced with Cat for a while longer, but she could see his attention was beginning to drift towards a group of people who were probably his friends.

"I'm going to get something to drink and walk around," Cat stopped dancing and dropped her hand away from his shoulder.

"Okay I'll see you around then. Come and hang with us when you're done mingling," he smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

Did he really think she was the type to mingle?

She waited until he was invisible amongst the group of boys and girls who were laughing boisterously and helping themselves to canned beer before she snuck off towards the back of the room. She knew there was a back door or window somewhere, it was just a matter of climbing over all of the bunk beds blocking her way. She casually backed up towards them trying to look small so no one would notice her. Everyone seemed to be so involved with drinking and dancing and yelling that she thought she could probably walk right out the common door and no one would care, but it was not a chance worth taking. Once she got to the beds she sat down on one and started to slide herself backwards, weaving in and out between the ladders and posts so that she would be more hidden if anyone should look over that way. Soon she reached the door, but found it swung inwards so she had to use the window instead. She crawled out it backwards so she could keep an eye out for anyone who might be watching. When she jumped down she expected the ground to be closer than it was so she lost her balance and fell over backwards.

"At least no one saw that," she crawled a little ways past the window so no one would see her and then stood up and walked towards the gun shed so she could go around it to the back garden of the house. She did not want to take the chance that Lucian might see her out any other windows.

When she got to the garden she let out a sigh of relief and pulled the back door opened. It was cozy inside the tea room that over looked the garden and she was tempted to lay down on one of the couches and take a short nap.

She took a view steps towards it and then changed her mind, "No no I can't. I need to go to the library. I've already been interrupted enough for one day." She veered away from the couch and dragged her feet up the stairs to the library. She found the row of books she had left off at and started pulling books to look through again. It had been almost two weeks and Cat still could not find anything else on vampire souls or anything about Alucard for that matter. She had started at the very first book shelf and was checking every single book to be sure nothing was hidden in any of them. Now she continued down the row monotonously pulling books, reading their titles, and putting them back on the shelves. Soon she felt her eyelids drooping so she lay down on the floor to rest for a while.

Cat awoke as a chill ran through her and caused her to shiver. She wearily flipped over and looked at the window with sleepy eyes. It looked to be about dusk. She struggled to stand up and yawned loudly. When she turned towards the couches she immediately jumped back and fell into the book shelf. She was not alone.

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Don't forget to review. Who could be in the library with her? hmmmmmm.


	55. Watching

Whew. Stayed up till past 3 am writing this. Hope you enjoy.

Watching

Cat fell back into the book shelf and hit her head on a book she had neglected to push back in. She cringed at the sharp pain, but did not take her eyes off the person in the room.

"Who are you?" Cat demanded. She could see it was a vampire. The pale skin, perfect features and of course red eyes let her be sure of that, but how had it gotten in here without anyone knowing?

The girl looked up coyly from the newspaper she had been looking at. Her eyes looked tired and the eyelids seemed to droop half way down giving them a narrowed and almost sinister look. Her hair was long and pitch black and she had bangs that were cut in a very straight line and fell just over her eyebrows. She was wearing a white suit with a white tie, overcoat, and scarf. Next to her sat a fluffy pill box hat, also white.

"Oh hello. I did not see you there. Were you having a nap on the floor?" her voice was high like a child's and it seemed to tinkle like bells.

"Who are you?" Cat asked again, but this time she managed to keep some of the fear out of her voice, replacing it with curiosity.

"Oh I am no one. In a crowd of people I would be no one. So here as well I am no one. I blend in and no one notices the things I do or say," she giggled ferociously, "It would seem that I am just like you!"

Cat stared at her with confusion. She did not know what to say to this girl who seemed to have appeared out of no where and who was insulting her. "How would you know anything about me?" she inched her way along the book shelf towards the doors.

"Oh, I know lots of things," the girl stood up and set her paper on the table. Cat looked at it and saw that it was yellowed with age. She tried to see the date, but it was too far away.

"Yeah? What sort of things?" Cat thought maybe she could trick the girl by keeping her talking while she slowing snuck towards the door.

"Well I know all about you and what you do in this library all day. You're looking for something am I right?" she looked at Cat and waited for her to nod. Cat did and she continued, "You're looking for something that is really none of your business. So far you've only found a bit. I saw the book you were looking at that was about vampire souls. There aren't many books on that topic. You probably won't find any more." She stood up on her toes and walked gracefully on them towards the door matching Cat's pace.

"Well what could you tell me about them?" Cat stopped walking. She knew that even if she got to the door she was no match for a vampire and she had left her guns in her room anyway.

"There isn't much to tell about them. You've read the opinions. I do not have an opinion about it myself. I could care less," she twirled around with her hands stretched out and then stopped short and let them fall to her sides. She stared intently at Cat and cocked her head to the side.

"Do you think you have a soul? You must be interested in that at least," Cat sat down Indian style where she was.

"I am not interested in that in the slightest," the girl mimicked Cat and sat down about ten feet away from her.

"Well what are you interested in then?" maybe if she kept her talking long enough someone would come.

"I am interested in you. You were not only looking for information on vampire souls and creation. You were looking for something much more important than that. Why were you looking for it? Why is that important to you?" the girl leaned forward with eagerness.

"I was just interested in what made a vampire a vampire, that's all," Cat shrugged.

"No! Not vampire souls you twat. The other thing you were looking for. Why were you searching so hard for it? Why do you want to find it?" the girl leaned forward so far that she tipped over and was now resting on her hands.

"I don't know what you mean? What was it that you think I was looking for?" Cat had only specifically been looking for books on souls and creation. She had not really been searching hard for what this girl was talking about. The girl must be able to read her mind to know this. She could not have seen Cat pull any books about it because Cat did not know what books about it to pull.

"You do know what I mean. Your thoughts are so jumbled and unorganized," the girl sat up in a squat and rubbed her temples.

"I really don't know. I was only looking for books on souls and other interesting creatures I've never heard of," Cat did not want to anger the girl, but she did not want to tell her what she was thinking about either.

"Indirectly you were looking for it! I want to know why! Can't you answer me girl!" the girl was back on her hands and knees and was now crawling towards Cat in desperation or insanity. Cat could not tell which.

"I'm telling you I don't know what you mean!" Cat stuck her legs out in front of her in case she should need to use them to keep the girl away.

The book! _His _books! The books of VanHelsing! The key to everything! The book that tells all that he knew! All that is still known! You're looking for his journals and I want to know why!" the girl had closed the gap between them quickly and was now gripping onto Cat's shirt.

"I don't know! I don't know okay! I don't even know where I would look for those or what I would do with them once I found them! Why are you asking me! What did you come here for! Who the hell are you!" Cat fell over side ways onto the floor trying to get away and the girl grabbed her around her shoulders.

"You must not pursue your desires. The job is meant for some one else. You were not meant to come here when you did. Things have been disrupted. Stop looking for the books. If you continue they may become suspicious and then you will have ruined everything," the girl kept a hold of her shoulders but softened her grip.

"I don't understand. Who are you? Who sent you here?" Cat tried to inch away, but the girl stood up and pulled her along.

"No one has sent me. I am here of my own will. There is another that is meant for the task you have been pursuing. Stop your search and wait. Your patience will be rewarded," the girl finally let go of her, "I must go now."

"Is this some kind of trick?" Cat looked around the room as if she would suddenly see people hiding and laughing at her.

"It is no trick Katherine," the girl leaned forward and hugged her like someone hugs a person they do not know. A cold and emotionless hug only meant to benefit the receiver and not the giver. She let go without looking at Cat and went back to the couch to pick up her hat. She walked to the back of the library and stood in front of the wall for a moment. She glanced back quickly at Cat, "I will see you again if you should decide to disobey my orders." He eyes flashed dangerously and she phased through the wall and was gone.

Cat stood where she was for what seemed like eternity. She tried desperately to process everything that had just happened, but it seemed so much like a dream. She reached back and touched her head where it had bumped against the book shelf. She winced as she felt a lump there. It had really happened. What did the girl want and who was she? Cat understood what she was talking about, but why did she know so much about it and what did she mean there was another? Another who or another what? Why was she so worried about it? There were too many questions for tonight. She considered going back to the party to find Lucian and Pip and tell them about her ordeal. It might even be a good idea to ask Seras about it. Maybe she knew the vampire girl. She decided not to though. She did not want to ruin the party for anyone. Lucian would be disappointed enough that she had snuck away.

She took a deep breath and then walked over to the table where the girl had left her newspaper. Cat picked it up and looked at the headline. It was all in German, but the front page picture was of Nazis marching along the streets. The date on the paper said 1944.

"I wonder what she was looking at this for," Cat folded the paper up as much as she could and stuffed it in the back of her pants and under her shirt.

She left the library and headed back to her bedroom. Even though she had taken a nap for a good hour she felt exhausted. She paused when she passed by the elevator that would take her up to the old dusty tea room. She shook her head wearily and kept on dragging herself to her room. Enough weird things had happened for one day. The last thing she needed was to go up to that room and find some other stranger. A werewolf perhaps or maybe a boggart hiding in a cabinet.

She did not bother with pajamas or even to brush her teeth. She was so sick of everything that had gone on that day she simply shut out the lights and felt her way over to the bed. She pulled off all her clothes and hopped in with just her T-shirt and knickers. She laid for a while in the dark wondering when Integra and Alex would be home. Oddly, she found that she missed them both.

The girl had waited for everyone to be gone out of the house. "She must be watching all the time," Cat thought just before she drifted off to sleep.

And indeed she was right.

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Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review! Reviews are what give me ideas on what to write and they motivate me to write more and to write sooner so review away!


	56. Tea with the Queen

Long chapter! I don't have much going on with Cat for the near future so does anyone have any requests or something they would like to see incorporated?

Tea with the Queen

Cat had decided not to mention the vampire girl to anyone, not even Alucard. She thought that it would only stir things up and she did not want to upset anyone when it was getting so close to Integra's wedding.

A week after the incident Cat had gone to the library on a very stormy evening to snoop about. She wondered if the girl would still be watching in such terrible weather.

Sure enough as soon as she set to work looking for something specific and thinking about what she wanted to find she spotted a blur of white from the corner of her eye. She looked over and saw the girl standing at the library window that faced out to the garden. She looked at her for a moment and then shrieked when she realized the library was three floors up and the girl was floating in the air. She jammed the book she had been holding back on the shelf and ran out of the library and back to her room.

She did not go snooping again.

Now it was only a month until the wedding and Integra had been flustered for two days straight.

Cat woke up in the morning to find a note on her bed side table. It simply read _See to Integra _and the note was signed at the bottom with an elegant _W_. Cat dressed quickly in her white dress and put on a pair of flats that were decorated with a sailor motif. She knew why Integra was so flustered and she assumed Walter meant for her to help.

Integra had gotten a letter from the Queen a few days earlier requesting her presence in the royal garden for tea and an afternoon of wedding planning and the trying on of many dresses. It went without saying that tea with the Queen and trying on filly things was not Integra's…well, cup of tea.

Cat went quickly down the halls that wove to Integra's office and knocked on the door briskly.

"Who is it!" Integra yelled with near hysterics.

Cat opened the door slowly and poked her head inside, "It's me. I've heard from a reliable source that you could use some help." She slid into the room and snapped the door shut behind her.

"Are you going to go with me?" Integra was sitting at her desk in a simple blue dress and was attempting to put on eyeliner.

"If you don't mind and I don't think the Queen will mind. She did say that she wanted to meet me again in a more private setting. We can kill two birds with one stone," Cat walked over and took the eyeliner out of her hands, "Tip your head and look up."

"I'm sure she won't mind either, but it's going to be so boring. Are you sure you want to come?" she blinked her eyes and wrinkled her forehead.

"Hold still won't you? It won't be boring if it's the both of us there and it will make things less awkward. What would you personally talk about with her by yourself? But with someone else there the conversation will be much more interesting," Cat finished lining her eyes and picked up a tube of mascara.

"Oh not that too," Integra groaned.

"Yes, this too. If you're going to look nice you may as well go all the way," Cat blotted the end of the mascara on a tissue and pushed Integra's head back into place.

"I'm going to have to make a guest list you know? I suppose it will be mostly people the Queen invites. You will be invited of course and Walter and Ferguson. I suppose I will have to invite Pip or he will cause a fuss. I'm going to have to try on dresses too. This is all so overwhelming I don't see how you do it," Integra fluttered her eyes to dry the mascara.

"What do you mean _you_?" Cat looked at her accusingly.

"Well you know what I mean. Girls in general," she stood up and pushed all of her papers into a drawer.

"Well then you mean to say how do _they_ do it, because I am not included in any of that. I don't plan on ever getting married. I just don't see the point," Cat followed her out of the office and down the hall.

"Don't you want to have children?" Integra began to fiddle with her hair and Cat slapped her hand away.

"Yes, but I don't have to be married to do that. I can just have a boyfriend forever just like Gene Simmons! Other than for taxes I don't see what the point of getting married is. I'm above all of that sentimental 'for the purposes of being legally recognized as a joined couple' mumbo jumbo," she flipped her head over as they walked and ruffled her hair hoping it looked presentable enough.

"You're lucky enough to have a choice about it. If I had the choice I would probably not get married either," Integra sigh and they proceeded down the stairs.

"Don't you like Sir Hunton though?" Cat looked over at her a little worried.

"Yes, I like him fine. There is technically nothing wrong with him I just don't know him. It's very awkward having to marry someone you don't even know and then to be expected to have children with them," she visibly shuddered, "It's nearly too much to be asked for."

"Well, have you ever?" Cat hopped down the last few stairs and looked at her.

"Have I ever what?" Integra headed for the front door and opened it to watch for the car.

"You know…have you ever…," Cat looked at her again expectantly.

"Have I ever what!" Integra shook her head in confusion.

"Oh common! Have you ever…!" Cat raised her eyebrows briskly up and down.

"Do you mean...."

"Yes!"

"No! Oh good God in heaven no! Are you being serious? With who! Who do I even know!" Integra went quickly outside like she did not want Cat to answer.

Cat walked after her and shut the front door behind them, "I don't know. You know Alucard."

"Katherine Deschain," Integra turned and gave her a most sinister stare.

"Oh, I'm only kidding! I know that that's silly I'm just taking your mind off things. I'm sure you've forgotten all about tea now," Cat giggled.

"I had until you mentioned it again. I can't believe you could even think up that as a joke. You spend too much time with that vampire. You're starting to think like him," Integra pulled a watch out of her pocket and tapped her foot, "That car had better be here soon."

"Nonsense. I haven't been around Alucard in nearly a month," Cat sighed.

"Don't you stay up late? You must see him when you're in the library or the halls?" Integra pulled out a very compact phone and dialed a number.

"Sure I see him, but we don't talk. He doesn't even acknowledge that he sees me," she tried to think back to the last time she had even seen him in the halls. It must have been over a week ago now.

"Did something happen between you two?" Integra listened to her phone ring and then yelled into it as soon as it stopped, "Where is my car!"

"What do you mean _did something happen_? He's a vampire and I'm a girl remember? All laws of nature say that we shouldn't associate at all. You just said yourself that I spend too much time with him," Cat fiddled with her shoes and pouted a bit.

"You two seemed like you had a relationship for a time. Not like that, don't look at me that way. More like a business partnership I suppose. You're friendly to each other, which is strange for Alucard, and you worked well together. You know exactly what I mean quit scowling," she snapped the phone shut and huffed.

"Yeah, I guess I do. I don't know what happened. Maybe it was because Seras was here and he realized I'm just a human. She said they were talking about me, but she didn't tell me what about," the car finally made it around the corner and Cat followed Integra down the steps.

"Maybe she was only teasing you. I think she was a little jealous. She felt like Alucard had replaced her with another helpless human, but instead of turning you he preserved you. She never really wanted to be a vampire I think. It was just something that was necessary for her to survive," Integra opened the car door herself and motioned for Cat to get inside.

"_He _didn't preserve me I preserved myself. He would have shot me if I hadn't said anything. Would he have gotten into trouble if he had made me a vampire?" Cat scooted to the other side of the car and Integra climbed in after her and slammed the door.

"To the palace and hurry up you're already late! Oh, he would have gotten into some sort of trouble. We try not to recruit minors," she looked at Cat and smiled.

"Ha, maybe not to your vampire ranks, but certainly to your army," Cat laughed loudly at the joke.

The driver, who worked for the Queen and not for Hellsing, turned the thirty minute ride to the castle into a ten minute one. They careened around corners and Cat found herself holding onto the car doors helping handle more than once.

They finally arrived safely at the palace unscathed and the driver rushed around to open the door.

"Well we certainly made good time," Integra wobbled out of the car and straightened her dress.

"Yeah," Cat stumbled out as well, "great time."

The driver bowed to them both and then got back in the car and sped off.

"How odd," Cat looked around, but there was no greeter or butler to be seen.

"It is odd. Usually someone is here. Perhaps we aren't expected until later? Maybe I read the letter wrong," Integra walked up to the palace door and stared at it.

"Should we knock? We must be on time because the driver was sent to get us. It's like 2 o'clock already," Cat pressed her finger against the door to see if it would give way like in the horror movies when everyone has been murdered.

"I'm going to knock," Integra stated.

"Then do it," Cat looked at her like knocking was a challenge.

"I will," she raised her fist up to the door and then dropped it again, "Maybe I should just call inside."

"Bagauk!" Cat stuck her thumbs under her arms and flapped her elbows.

"Did you just make…a chicken noise?" Integra had begun to dial her phone when the door was yanked opened.

Cat was still doing a chicken impression and she jumped in surprise at the scraping sound it made

"Oh dear, how long have you been standing here?" a plump woman in a classic maids uniform ushered them inside.

"Not long. Were we expected much later?" Integra followed the woman who was walking quickly down the hall that they had followed to the ball room a month ago.

"No no, we were just all side tracked. Her Majesty wanted everything to be set up and ready for you, but we got off to a slow start this morning. This way this way," she led them through a side door and then down another hall.

"Are we going out to the garden?" Cat had always wanted to see the royal garden, but it was nearly cold enough to snow and she was wearing a summer dress.

"Oh good gracious no child! Her Majesty would catch her death out there," she knocked on a wooden wall panel as they walked by, "You'll be having tea with her in the sun room. It's the next best thing when it's too cold for the garden," she pulled aside a thick curtain they had come to and gave Cat and Integra a small push through the entrance.

Cat oohed at the lovely site before her. The ceiling and walls of the room were completely made from many class panels that formed into a gigantic dome. Outside there were tropical plants and trees and vines that surrounded the dome so it looked as though they were in a jungle. Inside there were exotic flowers like orchids hanging all over the place and there were many potted plants sitting all about. Cat could even spot a few terrariums with lizards and frogs inside. The Queen was sitting at a small table set for three in the middle of everything. To the side of the table was a rack full of white dresses and a curtain set up in a square so someone could go behind it to change.

"It's about time," the Queen looked up from the scone she had been tinkering with.

"Pardon our lateness your Majesty," Integra approached the Queen and curtsied and Cat followed her lead.

"You are pardoned. Now sit down so we can get started," she reached for the teapot without waiting for the maid and poured herself some tea.

"I hope it's alright that I've brought along Miss Deschain," Integra pulled Cat by her arm so that she was more in front of the Queen in case she had not noticed her.

"Yes, fine. I've already had a place set for her," the Queen waved her hand at the seat to her right.

"How did you know I would come?" Cat plunked down in the chair and was immediately stabbed in the ribs by Integra's finger, "Ouch!"

Integra mouthed _your Majesty_.

"I saw that," the Queen bit into her scone, "I knew your mother. You are the same as her. I assumed you would feel the need to help out," she paused and took a sip of tea, "Also, Walter called me."

At this Cat burst into laughter. She felt much more comfortable with the Queen if she could think of her as a normal person and not as the Queen of all England.

"Go on now, eat and drink because we have business to attend to. We must make a guest list first so that invitations can be made and mailed out by the end of today. I have already made a list of people who must attend so you only have to look over it and add the people you would like to attend," she reached underneath her pink pill box hat and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"Oh, Mum," Cat heard the maid sigh from somewhere behind them.

"They think I can't do things on my own. Because of my age you see?" she winked at Cat, "Look this over quickly Integra. There are sixty-five guests. I've left you room to invite ten more people."

"I'm not sure if I even know ten people that I would personally want to invite. Do you have a pen?" she unfolded the paper and started to scan through the names.

"Who do you think she'll invite?" the Queen picked up another scone and took a bite.

"Me of course and Walter, Pip and Ferguson. I can't think of anyone else she knows," Cat looked over at Integra and saw her write down the names she had just listed.

"Are you going to invite Alucard?" the Queen eyed Integra slyly.

"Oh," she looked up from the paper with a start, "Well, I hadn't thought of it. I don't know that he will want to come and I'm sure we'll be safe. There's no risk of an attack during the day."

"I think you should invite him. I like to see the way people react. Most of them don't know he's a vampire you know? Just the Knights and I and you lot. It's fun to listen in on their conversations. They try to figure out where he is from and who he is. He can be your date Katherine," the Queen nearly giggled herself off her chair.

Cat sighed, "Alucard is always my date."

"You're both so cynical you make a perfect match," Integra laughed and wrote Alucard's name on the list.

"Is that it then? Margot? Margot?" the Queen called for her maid.

"Yes, Mum?" the maid had been attempting to catch one of the frogs in the terrarium and she rushed over while brushing her hands off on her apron.

"Will you take this list to Reginald and have him take care of the invitations? I want them sent out today," she held the list out for Margot.

"Yes, Mum," Margot took the paper and strolled out of the room.

"Now that that is taken care of we can get down to the fun part. It is time to pick a dress! I have gotten your measurements from Walter and I put the word out to some top designers. They all sent enough to fill a whole rack so you have plenty to choose from," she waved her hand and Integra took it as her queue to get busy.

She pulled one of the dresses off the rack and went behind the curtain to change.

"How are you doing Katherine?" the Queen turned her attentions toward Cat as soon as Integra was out of sight.

"I'm doing good," she bit into a cookie.

"No problems at that house I hope?" the Queen picked up a cookie as well and bit into it.

"No, is there something specific I should be looking for?" Cat cocked her head.

"Just anything you find to be unusual," the Queen stirred some more milk into her tea.

Cat laughed, "Everything there is unusual."

The Queen chuckled as well, "That is true. Anything out of the norm then. Or anything that you feel might affect you."

Cat thought for a moment about the girl. If she told the Queen about her then she would have to also tell her why she came and that would lead to why Cat was in the library, "No, nothing out of the norm, for the Hellsing estate anyway."

"Good. If anything should happen don't hold your tongue. Contact me immediately," she nodded at Cat and looked back towards the curtain.

Integra came out from behind it wearing a mermaid style dress that was not lacking in frills, lace or beading.

"Oh dear," the Queen wrinkled her nose.

"Is this some sort of joke?" Integra looked down at the dress with disgust.

"If it is it's a great one," Cat clapped her hands.

"You better pace yourself with those snide remarks. I have an entire rack to go," she made an obscene hand gesture while the Queen had her nose in her teacup and went back behind the curtain.

It took the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening to finish trying on the dresses and retry on the ones that had not been immediately thrown aside. Integra finally settled on one that both Cat and the Queen agreed was the most flattering. It was simple, but elegant and its shape was similar to Cinderella's classic ball gown. After some talk about how her hair would be styled and where Cat would go to find a dress because she would be a brides maid they said their goodbyes and left.

The ride home was a quiet one and lasted much longer than the one there because of the traffic. Cat dozed against the window and Integra stared out hers and nodded off now and again.

They were almost to the house when Integra poked Cat awake, "Look. It's starting to snow."

Cat looked out the window and watched the tiny white dots float down in swirls and flurries, "I wonder if it will snow at your wedding."

"That would be nice. It's inside anyway so it wouldn't hinder us. Maybe it would hinder some guests though and they wouldn't be able to make it," she smiled hopefully.

"When is Alex going to move in with us?" Cat scooted away from the window and shivered.

"I supposed after the wedding. Did I tell you I have to go on a honeymoon? For at least a week. I think we are going to Japan," she made a face that showed she could do with or without a honeymoon.

"You should make the best out of it. Just have fun in Japan rather than feel pressured to have fun on your honeymoon. You know what I mean?" Cat tapped her foot impatiently. She was getting cold and tired.

"Yes I know what you mean. Will you be alright here by yourself?" Integra looked at her without much concern.

"I won't be by myself. That house is always full of so many people. Half the time I don't even know who's there."

* * *

Sorry for my cruddy ending. I got tired. Could is be foreshadowing? Who knows.

REVIEW!


	57. Marriage

_**Ideas anyone ideas? Do you people like chapters that have Alucard better than those that don't? ****Something interesting will have to go on while Integra and Sir Hunton are in Japan otherwise things are going to get boring. Review review review and tell me how I'm doing. **_

Marriage

Church bells tolled early Sunday morning and Cat's eyes snapped opened. She looked out the window and saw that the mornings mist still had not been evaporated by the sun. She rolled over and looked at the clock. It was only seven, but she could hear the voices of many people down stairs. She flipped back over to peer out the window again.

"Ahhhhh!" she dove under the covers to protect herself.

"Why so jumpy?" Alucard turned the page of his newspaper and surveyed the massive engagement portrait of Integra and Sir Hunton.

"I am not jumpy!" she lowered the covers so only her eyes were looking out, "Anyone would be terrified to find you in their room so early in the morning."

"You should be up by now. The wedding is at nine," he folded the paper in half and tossed it onto her bed.

"I know when the wedding is I've been helping all month unlike you who I've only seen once or twice in the past two months and you didn't even say anything to me then. It will only take me half an hour at the most anyway. I only have to get dressed and comb through my hair," she turned away from him and snuggled into the pillow.

Alucard frowned, "I've been busy."

Cat turned over again and narrowed her eyes at him. Normally he would have said something cruel to cut her down, but he almost sounded remorseful.

"What would I have to say to the likes of you anyway? I do no go around wasting my time on meaningless banter."

That was more like it.

A knock sounded and Walter came into the room, "Oh, hello Alucard. Miss Cat, Integra wanted me to come and make sure you were preparing to get up. We will be leaving for the church at 8:30."

"Okay Walter. I'll be down in half an hour," she sat up and tried to rub some of the sleep out of her eyes.

Walter nodded and closed the door behind him.

"He looked nice don't you think?" she slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

Alucard just grunted and tapped his shoe on the ground.

"Are you going to be wearing something other than that black suit you always have on?" she yelled from the bathroom through a mouth full of toothpaste. He did not answer so she continued getting ready. When she came out of the bathroom she jumped back in shock for the second time that morning.

She almost could not recognize the man sitting in the chair by her bed. His hair was cut very short in the style that most respectable older men wore theirs. He had a mustache and goatee that were trimmed very neatly and he was wearing a classic tuxedo.

"You look completely different!" she took a few steps forward and surveyed him warily.

"Yes, obviously," he stood up and walked over to the armoire where her dress was hanging in a bag. He unzipped the bag and pulled the dress out carefully. "This is not so bad. Most brides' maid dresses are atrocious."

"What would you know about bride's maids and their dresses?" Cat walked over and took the dress from him.

"I have lived a very long time. You begin to notice things after a while. Hurry and get changed. Integra is starting to worry."

Cat went back into the bathroom and put her dress on. She sighed as she stared at the floppy laces in the back, "Whose idea was it to get dresses with corset backs?" She had barley finished the thought when the laces wriggled to life and began to weave their way back and forth through the lace eyeholes. They quickly pulled themselves tight and crisscrossed into a bow. Cat could not help smiling when she walked out of the bathroom, "Thanks for that."

Alucard nodded, "Come now. Things will be starting soon. It's going to be a long day."

"Can you even go inside the church?" Cat grabbed her camera off the nightstand and headed out the door.

"Why wouldn't I be able to?" Alucard glared at her.

"Um, I don't know, maybe because you're a vampire and the most unholy one at that. Won't your skin melt off if you touch anything in the church?" she skipped ahead of him and laughed.

Alucard only frowned and opted not to respond.

"Are you going to do anything to disrupt the wedding?" Cat went down the stairs carefully. Heels were something she did not have much practice in.

"Do you want me to?"

"It doesn't matter to me either way. I'm sure some people would be mad and some would find it amusing," she waited at the bottom of the first staircase for him.

"I have been forbidden to make any mischief. I'll be seated next to the Queen so I must be on my best behavior," he flashed his pointed teeth at her and chuckled.

"Do you think the reception will be boring?" Cat latched onto his arm for the trip down the second set of stairs.

"They won't be staying at the reception for very long. They're to leave for Japan before dark," he slowed his pace so Cat would not be dragged along.

"Who is going to be in charge while they're gone?" Cat looked at him warily. She knew that Integra was the only one who controlled Alucard. If she was not around what would happen?

"Walter will be in charge of the house as usual. Ferguson will be in charge of everything other than domestic affairs," Cat stared questioningly at him, "If there is something that needs to be taken care of with ammunition then Ferguson will be in charge of that."

"So he's in charge of you?" she asked.

"In a sense I suppose you could say that. But, it would be more accurate to say I am in charge of my self," he took a hold of her upper arm and lifted her so they glided the rest of the way down the stairs.

"But, how can you be in charge of your self? Isn't that dangerous? For other people I mean," when they landed lightly on the floor he let go of her arm and she gripped onto the cuff of his shirt.

"I have instruction not to cause too much damage. Are you worried I might kill you?" he leered down at her.

"No, I was more worried about everyone else," she stuck her nose in the air and pursed her lips.

They were almost to the foyer now and Cat could hear both Integra and Walter yelling out orders to people. When they stepped into the foyer no one noticed them. People were running about with flowers and dresses and shoes. Chairs had been set up so hair stylists could quickly seat people down and fix their hair. The Queen had picked out a few women to play as brides maids and help out with things that Integra was told she was not supposed to worry about. Of course she had made sure that each girl was completely terrified out of her mind. She immediately had taken charge of everything and the girls would more appropriately be called bride's slaves than bride's maids.

"Cat! There you are! Are you ready? Yes, I see you are. Good very good. The car will be here shortly. I'm to go in my own car with Walter and you and all the other girls will be in a car with Alucard. Alucard you will go into the church when we get there and take your seat with the Queen. Cat and you other girls, you will wait in whatever room Sir Hunton's groom's men are waiting in and then you will be paired with them and will walk down the isle. Do we all know our duties!" she looked at everyone expectantly and some of the girls nodded wearily.

"I SAID DO WE ALL KNOW OUR DUTIES!"

"Yes ma'am!" the girls coward and huddled together.

Cat laughed, "You should really calm down. Your hair is going to start falling out. I'll make sure we all get to where we need to be okay? Just relax and go with Walter to the church."

"Yes, you're right. I don't want to become flustered," she paced back and forth and patted her hair to check that it was still in place.

"I think we passed that point a while ago," Walter whispered to Cat.

"I see the cars! The cars have arrived!" Integra rushed out the door without waiting for anyone.

"It's show time," Alucard held out his arms and corralled the girls into a cluster and led them out the door. Cat followed behind with Walter and took notice of the girls' faces. Some of them looked terrified and some looked to be slightly dazzled.

Cat helped Walter get Integra and her dress safely into the car and then went to join Alucard and the other girls. She sat down next to him and immediately noticed contemptuous stares. The ride to the church was not very long and Cat was relieved when they pulled up to the back. She hopped out into the frigid December air and waved at Integra and Walter as they went into a side door.

"See you in there," Alucard nodded and headed to the front entrance of the church where other guests were slowly arriving.

Cat looked at the other girls for direction, but they all just stood and looked around blankly. She looked around too and finally saw a man in a tuxedo go through another side door. She pointed in his direction so the other girls would see and they all proceeded silently forward and through the door. Inside the church it was much warmer. Cat followed the hall until she heard quiet chatter and she opened the door that it was coming from.

"Katherine!" Sir Hunton strode towards her and gave her a tight hug, "It's so good to see you. Do I seem nervous to you? I feel nervous. How is Integra? Oh, girls come in come in I'll show you who you're matched with," he led Cat further inside and allowed the rest of the girls to file into the room.

"Integra is fine. Very calm, but excited I think. You should relax," Cat hoped she sounded convincing.

"Calm? Oh my, she'll think me a fool to be so worked up. How will you manage for a week on your own? I promise we'll bring you lots of presents from Japan. It will be so very nice when we get back and I'm able to move in. We'll be one big family," he hung his arm around her shoulders and held her tight.

"You know I'm not related to her right?" Cat looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes, right…I've just been thinking of you like a daughter. I suppose little sister would be much more fitting," he gave her another brisk squeeze and then set to work pairing up the girls and boys.

Cat was paired up with Sir Hunton's cousin. He looked to be about ten years younger and Cat was pleased to find that he was the funniest out of the bunch. He made jokes right up to the point when they were walking out onto the isle.

The wedding went on like most weddings do. Vows were read and agreed to. Different things were said. The bride and groom added their two cents.

During the wedding Cat watched Alucard talk quietly with the Queen. She would turn her head slightly so no one would see and whisper something and he would smile or nod and lean over to say something back. Many times the Queen nearly laughed and she had to cover her face with a handkerchief to act like she was crying.

Finally, after Cat had switched her weight back and forth between feet multiple times, the wedding came to its conclusion. Sir Hunton and now Sir Integra Hunton Hellsing walked with each other back down the isle and out of sight.

A sigh of relief was heard amongst many of the Knights and a sigh was heard from many of the girls as well who quickly dispersed into the crowd of people leaving the church.

Cat approached the Queen and Alucard who was helping her up off the pew.

"Will you be going to the reception?" Cat informally addressed the Queen. She heard one of her ladies in waiting scoff.

"Oh, no dear. I will be going back to the palace for a well deserved nap. Integra and Sir Hunton have decided they will leave for Japan right away. You may do what you like with the rest of your afternoon. I should think it will be a very drab reception because of the guest list," she patted Cat on the arm and walked off with her entourage.

"They left without even saying goodbye," Cat's face fell.

"Integra told me to give you this," Alucard pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.

"When did you see her," Cat took the phone and checked to see if it was on.

"While she was in the room getting ready," he smirked, "You'll be getting a call soon."

As soon as he finished his sentence the phone rang, "Hello?"

"_Cat?"_

"Integra! I can't believe you're already leaving."

"_I would have said goodbye in person, but I didn't want anyone to know we wouldn't be at the reception. I'm having Walter bring back all of the terrible presents everyone has probably gotten us. You may open them if you'd like. I certainly won't want to."_

"I bet there are plenty of good ones."

"_That's the ticket! Think positive!"_

"Was that Alex?"

"_Yes. He's much too excited and I haven't brought a gun with me."_

"Oh, I'm sure he'll calm down once he realizes he has the rest of his life with you," she heard Integra sigh.

"_Well I'll let you go. Keep Alucard in order for me. I don't want to come home to a catastrophe."_

"I'll try my best."

"_Goodbye Cat."_

"See you next week."

"_BYE CAT!"_

"Bye Alex!"

She snapped the phone shut and handed it back to Alucard, "I suppose you'll want to be going home now?"

"Why don't we go out to Oxford Street and see what's new?" he grinned and offered her his arm.

"Well, this is a change in character. I'm all dressed up though," she took his arm and they went down the isle and out of the church.

"We can go shopping. Perhaps it will be fun," he grinned even wider and hailed a cab.

* * *

**_Don't forget to review!_**


	58. Old Memories

_**Sorry it's been over a month. Busy busy busy you know. Read and review. **_

Old Memories

"Since when do you think shopping is fun?" Cat let him lead her out of the church and towards a very expensive looking car.

He chuckled and opened the passenger door for her, "Anything involving you always turns out to be some sort of fun."

She watched him walk around the car to the driver's door and get in, "You're driving? Whose car is this?"

"That's none of our concern. They should not have just left it sitting around if they did not want someone to take it," he revved the engine and peeled out of the driveway and towards Oxford Street.

Cat yawned and looked out the window at the cars they were speeding past, "What do you think of all this?"

Alucard continued to look forward and did not answer.

"Of the marriage and how Integra will probably have a baby soon and it won't just be us anymore," Cat bit her tongue when she said _us_. She had not meant to make it sound that way, only that the house would be more crowded and there would be other people to attend to.

"I know what you meant," Alucard spoke coldly, "it does not matter to me. This is what they do. They keep the bloodline going to keep me imprisoned. It has always been and will always be this way."

Cat sunk down in her seat, "It isn't fair."

Alucard veered off the road and drove straight for the trees, "It isn't fair for you? Or it isn't fair for me? It isn't fair that I am bound to a family's bloodline in order to protect the world from me? Do you think that if I were free I would even give a second thought to devouring you? Give a second thought to ripping your limbs off and sucking on them like straws? Give a second thought to cracking your head opened like a chicken's egg and drinking the juices? Do you think you would run away with me and live like some sort of family?" he looked at her and glared.

Cat bit her lip and looked away, "I just meant…it isn't fair is all."

Alucard continued looking at her while he drove through the trees on the small dirt road, "The world is not fair and it never will be. We all know this to be so and yet we still strive for fairness and justice. You should have realized this a very long time ago."

Cat watched him look at her from the corner of her eye. He looked angry and sad at the same time or maybe he looked confused. She could never tell. She turned her head to look at him and he looked away, "If we didn't strive for fairness than things would be a lot worse. It's all us regular people can do. Hope that one day things will be better."

The car burst through the trees and into the sunlight. Alucard swerved out onto the country road and let out a rare sigh, "Things will get better in your lifetime. It won't be long now. We must just be patient."

Cat looked at him and cocked her head. She watched as a smile flashed across his face. Not the smile he usually wore that was terrifying and maniacal, but a real smile, or at least, as close to a real smile that a master vampire could manage.

They drove along the road in silence. Cat watched the trees go by and Alucard watched the road, or looked like he watched the road. Cat imagined that he did not need to pay attention to it. Maybe he was thinking about something. Maybe about the wedding or about what he had just said. Cat gulped. Maybe he was just reading all of her thoughts. She listened for a chuckle, but he remained quiet. Maybe he was being sneaky. Maybe she should think about something really weird or mean to see if he had any reaction.

"Maybe you should think about something more interesting so I don't fall asleep while driving."

"Maybe you should mind your own business!"

"I do mind my business, but I have so little of it that I must mind yours as well."

"Well, mind someone else's."

"You were thinking about your parents and that dream you had when you first arrived."

Cat looked over at him and scowled, "I was doing no such thing. I was thinking about how stupid you always are."

"You still wonder about how I was in your past and now coincidentally in your present. You wonder if you ever were at that dream park. Your memories are muddled and older ones have been replaced with more recent tragedy."

Cat was tempted to speak up, but she remained quiet and waited. It was a rare thing for Alucard to converse so freely.

"I met you in that park one day for the third or fourth time. You were five years old then and I had met you years earlier when you were one or two. I sat under a tree and watched as you played with your parents. They were very young, only in their mid twenties. They still were not used to having a child. They ran away from you to play a game of hide and find."

"Hide and seek," Cat said without thinking.

Alucard shot her a dirty look.

Cat swallowed some of her pride for a moment, "I'm sorry. Go on."

"They did not see how upset you were when they ran away and hid. They crouched in some bushes and watched you look around the park. It was a Sunday and they did not think you were in any danger so they settled down for some alone time," Alucard sneered, "I watched you slowly turn in a circle as you surveyed the entire park. You were crying, but without making much noise. Children's thoughts are so scattered and full of pictures and broken words, but I deduced that you did not want anyone to notice you. When you turned towards my direction you stopped and stared. You recognized me from when you were a babe, but you were wary. After a moment you began to walk over so I removed my hat so you would be less frightened. It did not help much, your eyes widened to the size of golf balls, but you kept on walking anyway. When you were about four feet away you stopped and sat down cross legged in front of me. You had a picture of a spider in your head that was reaching its leg out to a fly, but the fly was hovering just out of reach. I said hello to you and at the sound of your name from a stranger's mouth you perked up and sat on your hands and knees like a puppy. You said something along the lines of "wasur name?" so I told you and you made a face. Then we just sat in silence and you stared for five minutes. You were wearing a red and white striped beret and when you were finished staring you took notice of my hat. "Put back on your hat" you said and you picked it up and held it out at arms length. I put it on and you giggled and said "pretty". After that some boys that were maybe a year older than you started throwing balls of dirt. There were indeed three of them and they wanted a girl to pick on like most young boys do. They paid no attention to me though I was not hiding myself in the slightest. The dirt balls were missing you so you stood up and yelled at them, but they just came closer so they could hit you all the better. Rather than ask me for assistance you yelled for your parents and so I pointed to where they had gone. You yelled for me to run as well and then took off in their direction. The rest of your dream was nearly accurate. It started to rain, but not as bad as you remember and the boys did push you down in the dirt behind a bush and laugh. I decided to step in and I scared them with a face rather than eating them. Your parents were coming towards us now and I made the mistake of picking you up while I still looked a bit…well, scary. You didn't mind until you heard the fear in their voices and then you began to cry. I handed you to your mother kindly and smiled, but she was already angry and yelled at me to stay away from you. It was not even a month later that they were killed."

Cat was not sure how she was supposed to respond. By now she was used to hearing shocking news. What Alucard had just said also contradicted what he had said before about cracking her head opened. She thought about it some more as they drove and decided that the news was not all that shocking. It was a simple explanation to the dream she had had and it also revealed that her parents were not as amazing as she had thought them to be. It revealed that Alucard had taken and interest in her, too.

The car made an abrupt stop and Cat looked up. They were in one of the parking lots for Oxford Street.

"You still have not said anything," Alucard turned off the car with a wave of his hand and Cat noticed that he had never used a key.

"I just don't see what there is to say. It's only something that happened a long time ago. It's interesting, but it doesn't change anything," Cat got out of the car and slammed the door.

"Right, well let's hurry up and get you something else to wear before you attract too much attention to your self," Alucard held his arm out for her to take and they trotted off towards the shops.

"What about you? Are you going to get something to change into?" cat looked at him in his tuxedo and thought that he would probably attract more attention than she would.

Alucard snapped his fingers and his clothes melted away to reveal a plain black shirt and black slacks underneath.

"Can't you just do that for me?" Cat looked behind them to see if there was a pile of clothes, but there was not.

"Only if you want me to see you naked," Alucard sneered and put his fingers together in the napping position.

"No, never mind, I'll just go change like a normal person," she rolled her eyes and surveyed the street most of the shops were lined up on. It was Sunday so things were not yet crowded because people were still in church.

"It's going to stay like that all day today," Alucard chuckled and led her into the first casual clothing store they came to.

"What do you mean by that?" Cat let go of his arm and starting poking through the racks looking for a suitable pair of jeans and a shirt.

"Oh, you will see very shortly," he reached out and grabbed a shirt and pair of jeans off the rack and handed them to her.

"Uh, yeah I guess these will work. You're going to have to undo my laces," Cat turned and walked towards the dressing room. She felt the laces start to loosen, "Wait until I'm in there at least!" She heard him chuckle, but did not bother to turn around. Inside the dressing room she quickly slipped out of the dress and did her best to fold it without wrinkling it too badly. She slipped the jeans and shirt on knowing that they would fit and then plucked the tags off so she could hand them to the cashier.

"Hurry up. They'll be here soon," Alucard snatched her dress and it vanished into the air. He plucked the tags out of her hands and walked past the register without stopping. He tossed them and more than enough money onto the counter, "Keep it," and then he rushed out the door.

Cat jogged after him slightly bedazzled, "What on earth is so important that you have to be so rude. Then again you're always rude so what on earth is so important?"

"Werewolves."

"What?!" Cat stopped dead in her tracks and before she could even think Alucard had snatched her wrist and was dragging her along with him.

"Just two werewolves really. They are leading a gang of humans. A motorcycle gang to be exact. They like to come down here and terrorize whoever is around. They've been doing it on a specific schedule so people have started to stay home on the days they come. Humans are smarter than I give them credit for some of the time."

"So why are we here then? More precisely why am I here? You could have came and did this on your own you don't need me!" Cat tugged against him but it was no use.

"It's goof training. Plus, you would have been bored at home by yourself," he stopped walking and looked around the square they had come to.

"I wouldn't have been bored at all I would have been safe! I could have watched television or read like normal people do on Sunday night! I don't even have my guns with me! What am I going to do, throw a heel at them?" Cat yanked her arm out of his grasp and stared up at him angrily.

"I have your guns here," he pulled them and her holster belt out of his coat and dropped them into her hands.

"I can have these in public are you crazy!" she desperately tried to hide them under her shirt.

"You're with me. If anyone says anything I'll send them away. There isn't anyone out anyway. We've come too early," he led her into a side alley and leaned against a wall, "put on your holster and be ready. They'll be here in about five minutes."

"I can't believe you dragged me out here like this," she complained as she snapped the belt on, "I thought we were going to actually go shopping."

"We did go shopping," Alucard feigned a yawn and tapped his foot.

"Yeah, right. So we just have to get the two of them and then we can go? That shouldn't take too long, right?" Cat put her hands together and held them up like she was praying.

"There's fifteen total. We're killing the humans, too."

**.Review.****.Review.****.Review.****.Review.****.Review.****.Review.****.Review.****Review.**


	59. S h o p p i n g

Did you miss me?

"Shopping"

Cat heard the revving of engines in the distance.

"I won't. You can't make me do that and I won't."

"Then you will be killed," Alucard took out his gun and watched it glisten in the afternoon sun.

"You wouldn't dare let them kill me," Cat was angry enough to be smug, but she half knew she was setting herself up to get her feelings hurt.

"Do you trust me enough to put that to the test?" he looked down at her slyly.

Cat thought for a moment of what to say, but nothing came to her. How could he expect her to kill humans? She would have to tell Integra about this when she got back. She knew that Integra did not have much regard for the lives of people associating with monsters, but surely she would have something to say about Alucard making Cat kill them.

"You are a taddle tail," Alucard began to step out of the alley to face the motorcyclists who were now nearly to the plaza square.

Cat grabbed onto his sleeve, "We will take care of the werewolves before we do anything about the humans. Once they are dead if there are humans that flee we will let them. Do you understand me?"

Alucard considered her for a moment. Her facial expression was very hard and set. She believed in what she was saying and she believed that he would go along with it, "As you wish."

Cat let go of his sleeve and tried to hide the shock on her face, "Alright, lets go."

They walked out into the square together. Cat could see the group of motorcycles cruising down the other side of Oxford St. They did not look so rowdy from where she was standing. They were not wrecking anything or even being very loud.

"That is because they are coming for us. The werewolves can easily see you and smell you from where they are. They have told the rest of the gang that they are going to have some fun," he looked down at her and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

"What about you? Cant they see you?" Cat backed up slightly so she was part way hidden behind Alucard.

"They can see me, but they're not experienced enough to tell what I am. They think they can take care of me quickly and have some fun with you," he chuckled.

"Well let's just shoot them as soon as they get close enough," Cat gulped, she was not a big fan of werewolves, "Better yet, why don't you just shoot them now. It would be easy for you."

He sneered down at her, "But, no fun for me."

"So you're going to make me do it?" she sighed.

"Indeed," he stepped away from her so her cover was blown.

Cat thought about her plan of attack. She assumed the gang would surround them like in the movies. Werewolves were not very creative creatures after all. There was also the possibility that they would attack them right away. As they got closer she picked out the bigger of the two werewolves. This would be her first target. She thought she could try and shoot them both at the same time, but she did not want to risk missing both of them.

The bigger werewolf rode straight towards her while the smaller one rode towards Alucard. Cat gripped her gun that she was holding behind her back. She waited until he was about ten meters away and then she whipped her gun out from behind her and shot.

The blast rang out across the square and its echo was drowned out by the sound of all the motor cycles screeching to a halt. The werewolf had been riding in the center of the gang and now his comrades all looked back at their fallen leader. One started to chuckle nervously like he thought it was some sort of joke. He stopped quickly when he realized his leader was not getting up.

"What did you do!" the smaller werewolf looked from his dead friend to Cat and back again, "Auh hell, what did you do!" He stumbled off his bike and took a few steps towards the bloody remains. "He can't be dead! He can't be dead…we're invincible. We're immortal. He can't be dead…what did you do you twat!" He turned his attentions to Cat and snarled.

Cat waved the gun at him like a greeting, "Silver bullets."

The boy who had been laughing made an odd guttural squeak and dropped his bike on the ground. He started to back away with his hands held half way up defensively, "Listen ma'am I'm really sorry. I didn't mean no harm by it I was just having some fun. I'm really sorry I'll never do it again I swear to you I won't."

Cat waved the gun at him, "Get out of here and don't tell anyone what you've seen today."

The boy did not need telling twice. He turned around and ran without so much as a second glance towards his former friends.

"I suggest the rest of you do the same," Cat raised her gun and pointed it at all of the other boys. They slowly began dropping their bikes and backing away.

"Now wait a minute boys!" the remaining werewolf turned to his comrades, "This just means I'm the leader now and one of you is going to get promo…"

Another blast rang out as Cat shot the werewolf in the head, "No ones getting promoted today. Now get out of here all of you before I shoot you all," she glared at them sinisterly and slightly to her surprise it worked. Most of the boys dropped their bikes and ran and some rode away, not wanting to part with such a large investment.

Alucard slowly clapped his hands together, "Very nice work child. Not a single drop of human blood spilled. I couldn't have done it better myself."

"Of course you couldn't have, you would have slaughtered them all. If you had to do all the paper work that Integra does when you kill humans then you would appreciated sparing lives a little bit more," Cat holstered her gun and sighed.

"I doubt that," Alucard tipped his head back and breathed in the cold December air, "The police will be arriving soon. Remember, to them those just look like dead humans. We should go."

"Right," Cat sighed deeply again and then shivered.

"Would you like to take the fast way home?" Alucard held out his hand to her with his palm up.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just such a weird feeling…," Cat shivered again and then yawned.

"You're tired. It has been a long day for a human. Just trust me," he took hold of her elbow and pulled her towards him.

"Since when is it a good idea to trust you?" she looked up at him and eyed him warily.

"It worked out well today did it not?" he pulled her into his coat and disappeared into the darkness.


	60. A Dangerous Mission

After this chapter there is just one more chapter and then this story will be complete. Review please

A Dangerous Mission

Things were quiet for the most part in the Hellsing house hold while Integra was away. There was the odd job taking care of a freak or two which Alucard willingly attended to. Cat mostly relaxed except for one night when the wild geese decided to have a party. Cat was left with the clean up which included dragging very drunken soldiers back to their bunks and holding back an incredibly drunk Pip's hair while he threw up all night in her bathroom.

It was six in the morning and Cat was lying awake in bed. She had awoken from a bad dream around five and had not yet been able to fall back asleep. She was contemplating whether or not she should bake a cake for Integra and Alex's return. They would be back around noon the next day and she assumed they would be tired, but it would still be a nice gesture. When her thoughts had moved to making a welcome home banner instead she heard Walter in the hall.

"What do you mean they're downstairs?" his voice faded quickly in then out again like he was passing by very fast.

Cat slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of sleep shorts. It could not be Integra and Alex. Their flight did not leave for almost another twenty four hours. She looked over at her guns on the night stand and decided she probably would not need them since whoever was downstairs had made it into the house fine. It must be someone they all knew.

"Only one way to find out," Cat crept out into the hall and followed the way Walter had gone to the grand stairs. The voices were hushed, but as she got closer she could start to make hem out. It was Integra and Alex home early. Cat straightened up from her sneaky crouch and skipped down the stairs.

"Why on earth are you home an entire day early?" she looked at Alex who looked slightly bummed and worried at the same time and then to Integra who looked as serious as ever.

"I got a call. There is serious business that needs to be tended to," she handed Walter her small suitcase and immediately headed for the stairs.

"Now wait a minute!" Cat turned around baffled and followed after her, "You can't just come home and say you got a call and be off the hook! I want to know what's going on."

"It's the Germans yet again. They've sent out more freaks and they're headed for London. It going to be a massive attack and I couldn't leave it to just the soldiers and Alucard to muss up on their own," Integra took the stairs two at a time.

"So should I go and get ready?" Cat rushed up the stairs after her and when Integra stopped abruptly she passed her by six stair steps before realizing.

"You won't be going on this mission. I'll need you to stay here with Alex and Walter," Integra shifted her eyes guiltily.

"How come?" Cat stepped back down the stairs so she was on Integra's level.

"It's much too dangerous Katherine something could happen and everyone will be so busy…it just isn't a chance we are willing to take," she twiddled her thumbs for a bit and then clenched her hands into fists and held them rigidly at her sides.

"Well…can I at least know what's going on?" she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable and child like. She did not like to be left out of things.

"I would prefer you not know too much about it until the mission is over. It isn't that you're not trusted Cat it's only for your protection. I will be going with Ferguson to a special base closer to Germany. You're to stay here with Walter and Alex. We brought you a bunch of souvenirs. You and Alex can open them together. He's quite fond of you," she offered Cat an awkward smile and then hurried up the rest of the stairs and towards her office.

Cat stood for a moment slightly hurt and annoyed at the secrecy. She was not sure why it mattered to her so much. She was always complaining about the missions she was dragged along especially the very important ones that were high risk. She should be happy now that she was getting a break and was going to stay home and open presents and relax with her new friend and new man of the house. So why wasn't she happy?

"Hello Cat!" Alex came bounding up the stairs like a loyal dog that had not seen its owner in a while.

"Hello Alex," Cat tried to look peppy, but failed miserably.

Alex crushed her in a bear hug regardless of her sallow look and kissed the top of her head, "Oh, it's not so bad that you'll have to stay home with me is it! We'll have lots of fun. We've brought you plenty of interesting things from Japan and loads of weird snacks and things. Are you tired? Do you want to open some now? I think Walter is almost finished unloading the car."

"I think I'll go back to bed for a little while if that's okay. I woke up around five and I couldn't fall back to sleep," Cat feigned a yawn.

"Of course it is! You go get some sleep and I think I will too. We took a special plane back so we could arrive faster, but it wasn't a very comfortable flight and I have jet lag," he gave her another quick squeeze and then headed back down the stairs to help Walter with the bags.

Cat dragged herself up the rest of the stairs and back to her room where she sat down on the bed with a morose sigh. She lay down and stared up at the ceiling trying to convince herself that she was not upset about being left out of the mission. She closed her eyes for what seemed like only a second and when she opened them again the clock said 7:30. She looked around the dark room and her eyes landed on a black shadow in the corner. She froze for a moment and then relaxed, "What are you doing in here. Aren't you supposed to be going on that oh so special mission?"

"You're coming with me. Get dressed," he did not move from the corner and Cat strained her eyes to try and see his face.

"I can't Integra said that I have to stay here. She said it's really dangerous and everyone is going to be too busy to watch out for me," she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her comforter.

Alucard flung her uniform across the room so it landed on the bed next to her, "Just get dressed. I'll take you with me. You'll be fine with me of course, I can easily take care of things and look after you at the same time. Integra is just being extra cautious because now she is married and someone else has their unwanted personal opinion to give about your safety."

"You mean Alex? Who cares if she's married now she's not going to take orders from anyone. I really don't think it's just because Alex doesn't want me to go. If she doesn't want me to go it's probably for a very good reason and I really don't think that I should…"

"Would you just get dressed and come with me Katherine!" Alucard came out of the corner and the other shadows in the room quivered around their edges.

Cat stared for a moment with wide child like eyes. Alucard had yelled at her before, sure, but never so desperately. She slowly nodded her head and tried to find her voice, "Yeah okay…just…give me a minute to get ready." She slid off the bed and pulled her clothes along with her to the bathroom.

Why was it so urgent that she had to go with him when he knew it was against Integra's wishes? But, then again, when had that ever mattered. She got the feeling that he was plotting something, but what could he be plotting that involved her going on this specific mission? Was she being stupid by going along with him? It was not as though she had to. She could just refuse to get dressed and go to Integra and tell her Alucard was trying to force her to go. Would she even make it that far? He could always just grab her and pull her through one of his icy portals.

She was dressed and ready by now anyway and she was curious about the mission. She would be safe with Alucard, she always was.

"Are you ready?" he opened the door without waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, sure. So are you going to tell me what this mission is?" she folded her arms over her chest and pushed as much of the suspicion she could manage out of her mind.

"You remember the fairy children of course," he reached out and took her by the shoulder and began leading her to the window.

"Of course," she rolled her eyes. Like she could ever forget.

"Well, they were made by the Germans as you know. And what I've always liked about the Germans is the way they never give up even when they fail miserably. It's a very good quality in such a powerful country. Even somewhat endearing," he pulled the window opened and stepped out onto the roof.

"Endearing to something such as you, sure," Cat stood inside the room looking at him out the window and waiting to see what her next instructions were.

He reached his hand out to her and continued on his rant, "Well, they have yet again created some of their curious fairy creatures."

"More poor children?" she took his hand assuming she was meant to come out on the roof as well.

"They were far from poor Katherine. You should know that. No, they haven't created more fairy children. They realized their flaw in that soon after I disposed of them all. This time they have created fairy adults and nearly perfected the process I might add," he pulled her out through the window and she nearly tripped upon hearing this news.

"Well that is precisely why I'm not supposed to go!" she weakly attempted to climb back through the window, but he had a heavy grip on her wrist.

"Don't you want to finish what we started?" he smiled at her maliciously.

"Not really, no, I don't and it wasn't me who started anything it was you! I've just been dragged along this entire time like always. You're going to be in so much trouble if something happens to me," she glared at him hoping that being in trouble meant just a little bit to him.

"Would I ever let anything happen to you dear Katherine?" he opened up a dark hole in the chilly night air and smirked at her.

She managed her most sinister smirk back and thought to her self, "I'm really not sure anymore."


	61. The Final Battle

This is a short chapter...and it is the last chapter. Please enjoy and review.

The Final Battle

Cat felt the cold rush of air and the burning sensation that always accompanied travel with Alucard. She held her breath and kept her eyes shut, trying to think of something more pleasant, but the ride was over as soon as it began and she felt her feet touch down on solid ground. She opened he eyes and looked around her. It was dark out, but she could see that they were on the roof to some office building or a parking garage. Things were exploding around them and the battle was raging full force already. She stepped closer to Alucard and watched the fairy adults fly around fighting with British soldiers. She could spot some Hellsing soldiers mixed in and even some of the Wild Geese running frantically around yelling. If you took away the scene of battle it would look like they were having fun.

"Are you ready to fight them?" Alucard looked down at her and grinned.

"No, I most certainly am not ready and I'd like to leave!" Cat looked up at him wide-eyed and fearful. The attack was worse than she thought it was going to be and she could understand now why Integra had wanted her to stay home. This was no place for a sixteen year old girl.

"Oh, you should have thought of that before you came. I have work to do now," he chuckled and started to step away from her.

"You can't just leave me standing here! I'll get killed!" Cat stepped after him and stretched out her arm to try and take hold of his sleeve.

"You will be fine. I can keep an eye on you while I work," he danced out of her reach and briskly walked away with his guns held in the air.

"Alucard! ALUCARD!" she screamed after him, but he did not turn around. She stood in the middle of the roof like a scared child trying to look small. How could he leave her like this? Was he trying to kill her?

As soon as she thought this one of the fairy adults came flying towards her laughing manically. She panicked for a brief moment and then remembered she had her guns. She drew one as fast as a gunslinger and shot, but the monster simply flitted out of the way of the bullet and kept coming.

"Alucard! You know they're too fast for me to shoot! I'm not inhuman like you, you bloody creation!" she turned and ran as fast as she could towards the other side of the roof.

"_Oh, but don't you want to be my sweet Viviana?" _

Cat stopped short just before the roof ended and turned around. She heard Alucard's gun fire and saw the fairy go slack in the air, but it still remained flying at her. In the brief seconds that she was still standing she scanned the roof for the source of the cold voice. She found it, standing by the exit doors that led to the buildings interior. He was smiling and then at the very last second his face changed and she watched him jolt forward and yell, "Katherine! Move out of the way!"

She looked back at the fairy about to collide with her and the back at Alucard. He could easily grab her. She did not have anything to worry about. He was moving towards her even while she was thinking this over. But, then, out of no where there was another fairy. It was shooting towards him and then it was colliding with him and she could see blood spraying everywhere. Always so much blood.

She moved her foot to step out of the way, but it was too late. The dead fairy collided into her shoulder and she was thrown backwards. She waited for her back to hit the roof and for the wind to be knocked out of her like it had been so many times before, but she felt no roof underneath her. She was falling and she was letting out a blood curdling scream and she was waiting for someone to catch her, but no one did.

As she fell she thought about what was happening. Alucard was busy with the fairy that had just attacked him. He could not have planned this. But, inside of her there was a sick little voice saying that he did. He planned for her to die tonight and now all of the research she had done about vampire souls came together. It was all clear now. He had called her Viviana. That had been his sister and he had said they were similar. Now as she fell she realized that vampire souls existed and like vampires they never died. They roamed the earth for eternity until they could find a vessel that could be changed into a vampire so they could live again. She was that vessel and her whole life leading up to this very point as she fell off of a five story building had only been a means of reuniting two siblings. She had been used and the thought of it only made hitting the ground hurt that much worse………………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….…………………………………….……………………………………………

_There was whispering and yelling. Peoples voices all around her talking. Some were urgent, some were angry, some she could not make out. Where was she? She could not remember how she had gotten there. She could not remember who she was. The panic of forgetting ones self swept over her and she felt her eyes begin to prickle. Tears? Yes, they were tears. Her eyes were shut, but she could feel the warm familiar wetness of them. She was in a bed. Things began to make sense though everything was so fuzzy. She hurt. Every part of her body was in pain. She could feel hands touching her. Hands with gloves and some without gloves. There were sharp pains every now and then. Needles. She was in a hospital or a doctors office. Something had happened to her. She shut out all the noise and tried to think. A cold night an awful fight. She had fallen. She remembered now. She had fallen off of a roof and no one had caught her. She thought it over again. More specifically he had not caught her. She remembered who she was now and what had happened came flooding back to her. Was she dead now? Was this just a dream? Dead people did not dream. She strained her ears and listened to the voices. There was the nurse reading off the stats. There was the doctors talking to each other and making suggestions. There was a more familiar voice. It was angry and almost yelling through all of the other hushed and fuzzy voices. She recognized it easily. _

"How could you do this to her! How could you be so stupid you disgusting monster! You knew what my orders were! You knew exactly why I didn't want her to go and you took her anyway! You kidnapped her you disgusting beast! I know what you were planning to do! Why can't you just settle with the fact that you can not have her! She is not yours Alucard!"

_She had wanted to be his for so long, but it was different now. He had tricked her and now she was lying on a hard bed dying. _

"I told you what happened. You can not blame this on me," Alucard folded his arms and looked away.

"You're damn bloody wrong I can't blame it on you! It is completely and entirely your fault! I've got the right mind to dispose of you right now!" she reached for her small gun and pointed it at him.

"Integra please try to calm down," Alex reached towards her and touched her shoulder.

"Yes, go ahead and shoot me human! Try to dispose of me with your pathetic hand gun!" Alucard spread his arms out wide and pushed his chest out towards her.

"Oh, this may not get rid of you, you vile loathsome beast, but I know exactly how to kill you and I would just love to right now!" she squeezed the handle of the gun harder and slid her finger over the trigger.

One of the doctors turned around, "Ma'am, I'll ask you to not fire that in here, the oxygen machines you see."

She looked at the doctor maliciously and he turned around with a shrug. His job was to save lives not cater to them.

"Integra why don't you just go outside and cool off a little bit. I'm sure the doctors could concentrate better if they had a little peace," Alex spoke softly, but he made the mild suggestion sound like an order.

She glared at Alucard who boldly glared back at her, "You are to stay away from her. Do you understand me monster?"

"The only thing I understand is that you are a human and I could so easily kill you all and have my way with that pathetic creature lying on the table," he smirked.

"Get in the basement! I do not want to see you again until I call for you! THAT IS AN ORDER!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and her voice cracked.

Alucard did not say anything else. He simply melted down through the floor and was gone.

_Things became fuzzy again. The room was quieter now and she could hear the beeping of the machines. The muffed voices of doctors still surrounded her and everything was still dark. She wanted to go to sleep. She was so very tired. As she started to drift away she could hear the voices grow more urgent and the machines started to beep faster. She was on the very edge of sleep just like she had been on the edge of the roof top. She wanted badly to just be able to fall, but something was tugging on her. There was a light in the darkness and it spoke to her. _

"_**You will not die Katherine Deschain. I still need you."**_

_The voice was beautiful and soft. Cat felt like she was smiling though she could not really tell. She heard the beeping of the machines become steadier. _

"_**Sleep now. We will soon meet again."**_

_**THE END  
**_


	62. AfterwardForward

This is an afterward of Finding Katherine and a forward to Isabael, My Love

Afterward/Forward

_"Katherine…Katherine…Kaaaatherine…wake up…it's time to wake up…I'm coming for you…Katherine…"_

Katherine's mind slowly rose from the subconscious of dreams and back to reality. She awoke and kept her eyes shut, trying to remember where she was and how she had gotten there. She felt as if she had been in a state of suspended animation mixed with a constant déjà vu. Her thoughts were jumbled and she could only think of one solid memory, the voice. The tiny soft voice that had called her back from death that night, the tiny voice that continued to call her and tug at her over the weeks she had been laying in the infirmary.

She twitched one of her fingers and found it was no longer painful. She tested her toes as well and found them to be in fit condition. She attempted to bend her legs and felt a throb of pain run through her body.

"Not quite there yet I guess," she thought to herself.

She wanted to open her eyes, but wasn't particularly interested in seeing anyone that might be in the room. She slowly peeked through her eyelids and tried to survey the room without moving her head. It appeared to be empty so she opened her eyes fully and looked around.

She tried to remain as calm as possible, but it was hard to manage. She was hooked up to multiple IV's and to a machine she assumed was monitoring her heart. She noticed it started beeping quicker once she saw the needles in her arm. She looked down at her legs and saw they were both in Velcro braces.

"Better than plaster I suppose," she glanced at her left arm and saw it was not so lucky.

Her head started to throb and she assumed it was from her increased pulse. She tried to calm down so no one would come in and check on her, but it was near impossible. All the memories of what had happened to her started to flood back into her mind. It was like they had been sent away by that tiny voice so that she could recover in peace and once she was awake they could not be held back any longer. She felt her eyes begin to prickle and hot tears ran down her cheeks. Inconveniently a man walked into the room immediately after this.

"Ah, good, you're awake, and crying, that's good too it means your brain isn't damaged," the doctor walked swiftly across the room and turned off the beeping machine, "Don't expect you'll need that anymore. Do you think you can manage to eat and drink? We can take the IV's out if you can and send you to your own room," he looked at her without smiling, but his face didn't look cross either. He spoke matter-of-factly like it made no difference to him how Katherine got here, only that now she was well enough to leave.

"I don't really know, I don't know how long I've been asleep. I feel strange," Cat tried to access whether or not she was hungry or thirsty. Her mouth felt dry, but she didn't think she needed water, or even food.

"You've been asleep for three weeks. You won't feel hungry or thirsty for a couple hours after the IV's are removed. After that you will most likely feel very sick. You'll have to eat a very small amount at a time, your stomach won't be accustomed to food. I'll have them put you on a liquid diet for a little while," as he was talking the doctor pulled out the two IV's at the same time.

"OW!" Katherine yelled and jerked away from him which sent a jolt of pain through her body again, "owww." She started to cry again and the doctor patted her head.

"It's best to get those over with quickly, they stick when they've been in so long. I'll give you some oral medication for the pain. Would you like me to have a nurse take you to your room or would you like me to call Walter?" the doctor pushed the machines away from the bed and brought a wheel chair out of the corner.

"I don't want to see anyone I know," Cat looked down at her feet and frowned. She felt embarrassed about what happened to her and she wasn't sure why.

"I'll call a nurse then," the doctor turned around to leave.

"Wait…I don't really want to see anyone new either," she glanced up and was surprised to see the doctor was smiling slightly.

"That's fine, I'll take you myself," he turned back from the door and came over to the bed, "I can give you a shot for the pain before I move you," Katherine's eyes widened, she hated needles, "That's what I thought, it will be quite painful, but it won't be as bad as getting a shot if you're afraid of needles."

Katherine nodded and the doctor took this as the go ahead. He scooped the sheet around her to spare her any indecencies and placed her into the wheel chair in one smooth movement. She grimaced at the pain, but it only lasted a brief second.

"See, not all that bad," he tucked the excess sheet around her legs so it would not get caught in the wheels and began to wheel her towards the door. Before he wheeled her out he peeked into the hallway, "It looks like the coast is clear." He pushed her swiftly down the hall and to an elevator that was hidden in a wall panel. It opened quickly with a tap of his foot and he slid the chair in and pressed the third floor button.

Katherine glanced at the numbers and noticed they weren't on the first floor, but on a floor below that.

"The infirmary is underground. It's the safest place if the house is ever under attack. Not that it is very often," he shrugged absently.

The elevator moved quickly to the third floor and when the doors opened the doctor peeked out again. When he saw no one in the hall he pushed her out and proceeded down the hall in long strides. He stopped quickly in front of the door to her bedroom and opened it. The room was very dark and Katherine let out a small gasp.

"Here," he reached into his pocket and handed her something small and cold. She pushed the button on the end of the object and the tiny flashlight lit up the room. He pushed her through the door and closed it behind him, then walked over to the bedside lamp and turned it on.

Cat glanced at her bedside clock and saw that it was 11:00 pm. She felt like it could be any time of day.

"You're sense of time will come back in time," he chuckled at his pun.

Cat stared at the strange man while he turned down the bed covers and fluffed the pillows. He was dressed like a doctor and he acted like a doctor, but it just didn't seem like he was a doctor.

"Are you really a doctor?" the question came out before she could stop herself.

He looked up at her and his face remained as placid as always, "Of course I am, what else would I be?"

"I don't know, maybe imaginary," the thought had crossed Cat's mind that she was actually dead and her way of coping was creating a dream of being alive.

"Don't worry, those ideas will go away in time. You've been sleeping and dreaming for three weeks. It's like when you wake up from a very vivid dream and you aren't sure if it was a dream or reality. It takes your mind a moment to adjust and then you realize you're in your bed and it was only a dream. You've been sleeping for much longer so naturally it will take your mind longer to adjust to being awake. If you're ever very unsure just give your legs a good wiggle. Dreams have no pain in them. They'll set you straight in a jiffy," he walked back across the room and wheeled her hair up next to the bed. "Brace yourself one more time," he picked her up from the wheelchair and set her down on the soft mattress.

"Thank you," Cat looked up at him, "I know doctors don't usually do this kind of thing."

"Most doctors are quite busy all the time. I only work for Hellsing, so I've got quite a lot of time on my hands when there isn't a war going on. I don't mind being able to see someone to the end of their recovery. The nurses shouldn't get to have all the fun," he smiled and patted her head again.

"Oh, here, your flashlight," Cat offered the tiny gold flashlight back to him.

"You keep it," he pushed it back towards her and pulled something else out of his pocket, "Take this as well. Walter has the receiver. You just push the button that corresponds with your needs. There's food, drink, bored, and toilet," Cat made a face at toilet and he laughed, "Don't worry the toilet one goes to the nurses' station."

"What do I do if I need you?" Cat blushed at the question. She wasn't sure what she would need the doctor for. It was obvious he was giving her a clean bill of health.

He did not seem to notice her blush, "There's a blue button on the back, press that one." He patted her on the head one last time and then made his way towards the door. "Try and get some medication free sleep, I'll send up some ibuprofen later. If you need anything stronger just let us know, but I think the ibuprofen will be enough. Integra will also want the monitors back, don't worry I'll just bring the heart monitor up after you're asleep. It will just be a sticker, no needles."

"Alright," she tried to think of something else to say, but couldn't.

"Bye, then," he waved and closed the door behind him.

Cat stared at the door for a while and then set the remote and the flashlight the doctor had given her on her bedside table. She started to turn out the light, then changed her mind. Darkness was the last thing she was interested in now.

She stared at the clock and watched the minutes tick by. Around 12:30 am she felt herself start to drift into a restless sleep.

Her dreams were white and empty. She was blind and all she could hear was a whooshing sound. She thought maybe it was the wind. Maybe someone had opened her window. The whooshing continued. It was a calming sound. She liked it. She let it take her deeper into sleep. Deeper and deeper until everything was silent.

_Katherine...Katherine…it's time to wake up…there's a vampire waiting in the hall…_

Katherine willed herself to awake from the deep sleep she was in. Was the tiny voice warning her or was it tormenting her?

"Are you awake?" a strange voice spoke.

Cat's eyes fluttered opened, ""It's…you," she spoke weakly.

"Me? Who would I be then?" the tiny voice asked.

Cat opened her eyes more, fighting the sleep that was trying to take her. The girl in front of her looked like the maniacal girl she had seen that night in the library. But, this girl was different. Her eyes were a cool blue and her voice, her voice was different. It was the tiny voice Katherine had been hearing in her dreams.

"They're different…your eyes…are different," Cat couldn't stay awake any longer. She had so many questions for the girl, but they would have to wait for another time. That was, if the girl even existed. She drifted back into a deep sleep. The calming whooshing noise returned and Katherine let it lull her off to a safer place.

As she slept, the small golden flashlight pulsed with light at her bedside.


End file.
